THE BIG SQUEEZE
HUFFINGTON
08.18.13
DAVID POMPONIO/FILMMAGIC FOR PAUL WILMOT
COMMUNICATIONS/GETTY IMAGES
“A LOT OF PEOPLE DON’T BELONG [IN OUR
CLOTHES], AND THEY CAN’T BELONG.
ARE WE EXCLUSIONARY? ABSOLUTELY.”
Lululemon’s experience stands
in contrast to the torrent of outrage that hit teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch this spring when
Business Insider resurrected comments CEO Mike Jeffries made in
a 2006 interview with Salon.
“A lot of people don’t belong [in
our clothes], and they can’t belong,” Jeffries told Salon. “Are we
exclusionary? Absolutely. Those
companies that are in trouble are
trying to target everybody: young,
old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t
alienate anybody, but you don’t
excite anybody, either.”
In essence, Abercrombie merely
acknowledged openly the same
sorts of practices at work through
much of retail, but that brazen
admis sion made the brand radioactive in some quarters.
Abercrombie
& Fitch
unabashedly
states that
they only cater
to the thin.