Abercrombie & Fitch Positioning Strategy - Research Paper Example

An analysis on Abercrombie & Fitch can show how it has positioned its brand, and how effective the strategy is. This can be done using the four P’s of the marketing mix as noted by Smith, (2013), namely product, promotion, place and price. A look at the product shows that it clearly stands out. There is a lot of competition in the clothing industry, but Abercrombie & Fitch has managed to continue leading in terms of products. This company sells outfits like tank tops, underwear, jeans, fragrances, t-shirts and footwear for the youth and kids only, unlike its rival companies such as American Eagle Outfitters and Gap Inc who stock all types of clothes, footwear and fragrances for everyone.

It is a company for young kids between the age of 7-14 year, teens between 14-18 years and also stocks women underwear and loungewear (Joseph, 2013). This is one aspect in the market mix that makes it distinct from the other companies. In addition, as the CEO of the company, Mike Jeffries puts it, his business is for the lovely, the attractive and cool and those who are not overweight. The company’s cloth line is unique in design. . In fact, most of the people do not get to know about Abercrombie through the television or magazines.

Word of mouth from its customers works well for them, and on Abercrombie television, the advertising is done. Of importance to note is their way of advertising, which makes use of sex appeal. This has greatly been condemned religious denominations and human rights organizations, complaining that the company campaigns for pre-marital sex among the youth, especially the young girls. However, the company CEO, Mike Jeffries confidently asserts that he and his team represent healthy sexuality, playful and glorious camaraderie which is usually found in the company’s target market (Joseph, 2013).

The company, in early 2003 used its magazine, Abercrombie & Fitch Quarterly, to further reach out to existing customers and potential customers. The magazines production was however stopped as people accused the company of promoting soft pornography. The company also advertises its products through its website (Abercrombie. Com) and through its subscription catalogs which have over 400,000 subscribers. Their advertisements all reach out to the young people where they show the ‘effect’ of using the company’s products like perfumes.

A good example is the Abercrombie effect advertisement. They also indirectly use negative publicity to promote their products (Joseph, 2013). Price is the other element in the marketing mix. Price is a great determinant on who will buy at a certain company and how much of a product they will buy. When the price of a product is law, more people are likely to purchase it and vice versa (Smith, 2013; Graham, 2013). For Abercrombie & Fitch,