American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch – different social media strategies in hard financial times
American Apparel, the upscale basic clothing retailer with a cult-like following, has fallen into serious financial trouble in 2010, with sales sagging despite a reputation as an edgy brand popular with the “urban cognoscenti” and Facebook crowd alike. Meanwhile, Abercrombie & Fitch has been lowering prices and investing in social media as its primary strategy to stave off sales declines in this rough climate.
The New York Times article reporting yesterday on the woes of American Apparel is full of bad news. Sales are down–it expects a $7 million net loss for the year– and stores are closing while investors question the controversial managing style of CEO Dov Charney. But the company’s Facebook page, on the other hand, is full of happy fans talking about American Apparel’s famed warehouse sales. And looking at the pure numbers, seen in the graph bellow, the growth of its Facebook fan base of 275,000 hasn’t slowed down one bit.
American Apparel has proven itself as a social media-savvy company in the past, and in-keeping with its rather controversial approach, it launched to much buzz the “Best Bottom in the World” social media campaign at the beginning of the year – with fans voting for the best picture of a behind on its social channels. It’s not been enough though to save it from the inevitable sales decline though.
Meanwhile, it is interesting to note what is happening to Abercrombie & Fitch in terms of its bottom line and its social media following, as it has taken a different path through the economic downturn. After a slump in sales in the second quarter, the usually expensive retailer has lowered prices to boost foot traffic and sales in its stores; it’s dented margins, but did result in a better-than-expected profit swing.
It appears that A&F is really banking on improving its loyal following online, as bloggers have noted the brand’s push to connect the in-store experience with the virtual, driving traffic to both. To that end, the growth in its Facebook fanbase does seem to have increased in the past few months:
This difference between American Apparel and A&F’s social media growth tells a similar story on one end (trending growth in popularity) but an entirely different story where it counts most: sales. But there’s a silver lining: if brand loyalty is a crucial measuring stick that can get any brand out of dips in the business cycle, then investors in both companies should be pleased at the end of the day. Once the economy starts to battle back, the thinking goes, these fans and followers should renew their allegiance with their wallets, not just their supportive Wall posts.
20 Comments »
SMI writes:: American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch – different social media strategies in hard financial times http://bit.ly/92j0Bw
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch – different social media strategies in hard financial… http://bit.ly/d3BlLV c/o @SocialInfluence
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch – different social media strategies in hard financial times http://bit.ly/92j0Bw
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch – different social media … http://bit.ly/bbX3RW
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch – different social media…: American Apparel, upscal… http://bit.ly/azcOE5 http://bit.ly/9W1EsO
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch – different social media strategies in hard financial times http://ow.ly/18CBcZ
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
How is social media helping American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch in the hard financial times http://bit.ly/dfTg9w
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
SMM in context with whole mix – price, brand position as well as promotion: American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch http://bit.ly/92j0Bw
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch – different social media strategies in hard financial times http://bit.ly/cGrQ8w
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
[...] Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch offer different approaches to using social media in hard [...]
American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch – different social media strategies in hard financial times – http://bit.ly/b0XVCB
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch offer different approaches to using social media in hard times. – http://ow.ly/2rsAq
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch – different social media strategies in hard financial times | SMI http://t.co/4uUDsZT
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch – different social media strategies in hard financial time.. http://ow.ly/1qNNVb
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Sales down but social media brand loyalty for two clothing retailers is key for future sales, when the market… http://fb.me/xVdazITg
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch – different social media strategies in hard financial time.. http://ow.ly/1qNNVb
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Learn how @Abercrombie and @AmericanApparel are using #socialmedia to increase sales – – -
http://ow.ly/2rom2
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch – different social media strategies in hard financial times http://bit.ly/9uJruv via @addthis
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
[...] & Fitch and American Apparel, which have astounding amounts of Facebook fans and show consistent social growth, are still reporting slumps in [...]
American Apparel and Abercrombie & Fitch – different social media strategies in hard financial time.. http://ow.ly/1qNNVb
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Additional comments powered by BackType