1. Abercrombie & Fitch If Abercrombie & Fitch fails as a brand, a lot of freaks and geeks might just be happy. As it is, the struggling retailer this year stripped CEO Michael S. Jeffries from his chairman duties — a sign that the company acknowledges Jeffries’ part in the retailer’s tanking sales. Jeffries has made ugly comments about the brand being only for cool kids, good-looking kids, and not for fat kids. These and similar sentiments sparked protests and boycotts. To be sure, A&F did begin as an elite 19th-century retailer of outfitter clothing for the rich in New York City, for when they wanted to prepare for manly outdoor pursuits. For that matter, Jeffries did a lot to wake up the brand by updating its image and its products in recent years. But Abercrombie has the perfectly wrong attitude for today’s era of customer …show more content…
The book-seller does enjoy a corner on the academic textbook market, running stores on several campuses nationwide. But Amazon recently even invaded that corner, announcing that, in addition to its textbook rental service, it is operating the University of California-Davis’ online textbook store. Barnes & Noble is the chain store that people cherish, probably because its stores are often a feature of many downtown areas.Although it closed its longtime, textbook-heavy store in Manhattan early this year, its physical stores are fairly healthy. The store isn’t in grave danger; as people do still like to wander into a book store and get a book. However it needs to be ready to turn the page. 3.