Calling all thin people: Abercrombie & Fitch, which only employs 'good looking people' and doesn't make women's sizes above large, has been accused of purposefully excluding plus-sized customersAbercrombie & Fitch, which doesn't make its womenswear above large, or pants above a size ten, has been accused of purposefully excluding plus-sized customers.
Robin Lewis, co-author of The New Rules of Retail, told Business Insider the retailer's CEO, Mike Jeffries, 'doesn't want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people.
'He doesn't want his core customers to see people who aren't as hot as them wearing his clothing,' Mr Lewis added. 'People who wear his clothing should feel like they're one of the "cool kids."'
Sex and six-packs: Despite the risk of alienating potential 'larger' customers, Mr Jeffries sees it as good branding to exclude these particular shoppersWhile Abercrombie & Fitch offers men's sizes in XXL, Mr Lewis believes this is to appeal to muscular football players and wrestlers.
Mr Jeffries told Salon in a 2006 interview: 'That’s why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that.'
Company policy: CEO, Mike Jeffries, 'doesn't want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people'In 2004, the company was sued for giving positions to white applicants, to the exclusion of minorities; and in June 2009, British student Riam Dean, who was born without a left forearm, won approximately $12,000 in an employment tribunal.
Managers at Abercrombie & Fitch's London store had forced her to work in the stock room, out of sight of customers.
And last year, it emerged staff were forced to carry out military-style exercises while at work, in order to maintain the 'thin and beautiful' aesthetic they had been hired for.
source: dailymail
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