The store that's a nightclub - breaking codes

Call it what you want, "Blue Ocean Strategy", Disruption (BDDP's thang), or more simply, differentiation. In today's busy brandscape, being brave enough to break codes and stand out pays off.

I experienced this last week during a morning of shopping heaven in New York, when I visited the flagship store of Abercrombie & Fitch on 5th Avenue. It blew my mind. I blew quite a bit of cash. I went back to take photos.

Its like no other clothing store I've seen:
Clothing store codes                                         Abercrombie & Fitch
Enter and see clothes                        ----->       Get your photo with a model
Glass windows, clothes on show         ----->       Shutters: what's in there?!
Bright lighting inside                         ----->       Dim lighting
Music as background                          ----->       As loud as a nightclub
Staff to help you                                ----->      Staff as models

The last point, staff as models, is literal, as I found out from their website. The sexy, six-pack hunks and gorgeous girls in their ad campaigns are cast from store associates. Eye candy example below:

And its not just show and image/sizzle. The clothes themselves seem well made, using good fabrics and nice design details (buttons, stiching, motifs etc.). The company describe it as "authentic, vintage-inspired sportswear, with sexy effortless style". And not too expensive either, so good value for money.

Does it work? Well, on both days I went people were queueing to: i) get in, ii) try stuff on, iii) pay. A bit more robust data on the company's performance from Seeking Alpha : 55+ consecutive quarters of earnings per share growth and 5+ years of 25%+ Return on Equity.

Another examples which seems to show that it does pay to be different.

Comments

[sheparad]

alright... youre right, it does work for some people but like you said the models just stand there to what? show off who wears abercrombie clothes? I dont know, I've just had a bad experience with the store but I'm sure some people are in love with it which is their position and thats fine. The thought of A&F just gets under my skin.

[David Taylor(from Where'sTheSausage)]

Know what you mean Sheparad... but it does seem to work, for a certain group of peopl. And based on my New York flagship store experience, this group is big?!

On the good side, they are brave enough to be different and deserve credit for that. Do you like it, no. And that's fine. They create a reaction.

The issue is, long-term, is it sustainable? The one bit which feels suspect is the lack of service. The staff look like models but don't do much else.

[sheparad]

my personal experience at an A&F store recently made me realize how much I really do hate it. When I left the store I felt depressed because I had the hardest time finding clothes that fit me good along with the fact that all the workers are typical- skinny and pretty, I felt almost poor due to outrageous prices, and I had a horrible headache from the raging music. I was in the worst mood.It is somewhat comical to look at all of the store codes that a&f not necessarily break but take to extremes. One other thing I didnt realize was that this controversy is world wide, not just in the united states. I think that it is something that needs to be addressed.