If David T. Abercrombie and Erza Fitch heard what has become of their store today, they would be rolling around in their graves.
In 1892 Abercrombie founded a store dedicated to selling the highest quality of camping, fishing and hunting gear in New York City. He joined forces eight years later with one of his most valuable customers Ezra Fitch, a successful lawyer and renamed the store “Abercrombie ‘ Fitch.”
Abercrombie soon resigned and Fitch turned the store into the world’s leading sports good store. The store provided President Theodore Roosevelt with equipment for an African safari in 1908.
As popularity grew, so did the clientele. Ernest Hemingway, Amelia Earhart, Howard Huges, the Duke of Windsor, Gerald Ford, Katherine Hepburn, Clark Gable, Charles Lindbergh and Presidents Taft, Harding and Kennedy all bought items from the same store that millions of college students today flock to buy the latest in overpriced polos and jeans.
The first catalogue was printed in 1909 and included 456-pages of outdoor clothing, gear and outdoor advice to over 50,000 customers worldwide. After Fitch retired, stores opened all over the nation and the New York City store expanded to include a shooting range and a golf school.
During the 1960s however, the popular store fell into financial trouble and eventually was bought out by The Limited Inc in the late 80s. The new ownership changed the image of the store and focused primarily on selling men’s and women’s clothing. In 1998, Abercrombie ‘ Fitch became independent and developed a new store, Hollister.
Recently Abercrombie ‘ Fitch has been criticized by the American Decency Association. Some state legislatures have fought the company’s racy catalogs, which have featured nude photos, sadomasochistic themes and drinking games along with conventional photos of A’F’s wares. This is much different from the first catalogues that featured raincoats and fishing lures, right?
Hollister, however, has remained uncontroversial and shows models actually wearing the clothing the store intends to sell. The store adds a “Californian Flare” to traditional preppy clothing. Currently there are 125 Hollister stores throughout the country, compared to over 500 A’F’s with the closest being less than ten minutes from campus in Trumbull.
Hollister has been nicknamed Abercrombie’s “Old Navy,” as the clothes are very similar in style and Hollister’s clothing cost less then Abercrombie’s with a fairly similar quality. Although more stores will be opening in the next two years, the only Hollister in Connecticut is 60 miles away in Manchester.
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