Company Resources and Capabilities of Abercrombie and Fitch - Case Study Example

Abercrombie and Fitch CompanyAbercrombie and Fitch CompanyIntroductionAbercrombie and Fitch Company is engaged in manufacturing of personal care, apparel and other accessories products. Company operates through its stores and direct to its customers. In this paper, focus will be made to describe and analyze the assets from three categories of assets such as tangible, intangible and capability resources.Tangible ResourcesPhysical AssetCompany spends a lot to acquire or fix the physical assets.

Free cash flow is one of the significant physical assets as $132 millions in years 2011. Company has established the distribution centers with the capability to keep its growth in future or peak seasons. Bottom line improvement is achieved by making investment in the infrastructure. Technology Assets Technology as a tangible asset is seen in the form of internet usage. Company has good website resources to accommodate the maximum customers at different locations. Internet as technology advancement has added value to the distribution channels of company.

Intangible ResourcesIn the following intangible assets i.e. human assets and brand and image assets of company are described.Human assetsAbercrombie and Fitch as a big retailer of clothing recruit the young boys from colleges, as they look like the catalog models. American look is used to judge the personality of a new candidate. Shoppers prefer to buy the products from stores where staff looks as they act in the advertisements. In some respects hiring a good looking person is not illegal but discrimination is found in regards of sex, age and ethnicity.

People having retail experience complain as they are not hired; instead of that young good looking people having no retail experience are recruited (Barlow and Stewart, 2006). Brands and imageCompany focuses on the customers’ demands and continues moving along the customers’ value chains. Company targets the youth people aged between 14 and 22 years old to sell the sports and other products. Some important brands of company include as Abercrombie & Fitch, Ruhel No 924, Hollister Co., Gilly Hicks and Abercrombie.

All of these brands are produced ensuring the focus and engagement of customers. Company operates at different segments and caters to potential and existing customers at different stages. Discrete image of each brand meets the demands of a customer group (Kumar, 2013).Capabilities ResourcesThis part is focused to see the distribution capabilities and strategic flexibility as capability resources of the company. Distribution capabilities of company to fulfill the orders of its customers as well as other companies are an enhanced feature.

Company continues the expansion in capabilities by using the third party logistics providers (3PLs) for its distribution system. Strategic flexibility is used as combined set of capabilities to cope with the uncertain situations of demands and opportunities. Company uses this strategy to reduce the impacts of uncertainty and related risks. Company has a good flexible strategy that operates in all areas of operations. Company has advantages in learning the values of its shareholders. Employees of company are equipped with new and updated skills to encounter the changes in a new and changing environment (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson, 2007).

ConclusionIn this paper, tangible assets, intangible assets and capability resources of a retailing company Abercrombie and Fitch have been given. Company has strong tangible assets like financial and technology assets. Recruiting the young college people and keep aligned the brand and image to customers are the intangible assets. Distribution capabilities and strategic flexibility are capability resources of the company. Fulfilling the customers as well other companies’ demands and reducing the impacts of uncertain conditions are fundamental aims of company’s capability resources.

ReferencesBarlow J., and Stewart P. (2006). Branded Customer Service: The New Competitive Edge. Francisco. Berrett-Koehler Publisher Inc. Hitt M., Ireland D. and Hoskisson R. (2007). Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases, Boulevard Mason. Thompson Learning Inc. Kumar V. (2013). Profitable Customer Engagement: Concept, Metrics and Strategies, New Delhi. Sage Publishing Inc.