Abercrombie Sales Tumble For 14th Consecutive Quarter

Abercrombie & Fitch appears to be another teen retailer that has seen better days, as the company reported that Q2 2016 sales fell 4 percent when compared to the same quarter last year to $783.2 million.

This marks Abercrombie & Fitch’s 14th straight quarter that saw declining sales, according to CNBC.

Abercrombie & Fitch said in a statement along with its earnings report that it believes sales will “remain challenging through the second half of the year, with a disproportionate effect from flagship and tourist locations.”

In a new campaign, Abercrombie & Fitch has tried to rebrand itself by shifting away from shirtless models, younger advertising trends and logo-centric clothing, which the retailer said is an attempt to market to older consumers, like college-aged and 20-something shoppers.

But it remains to be seen how successful Abercrombie & Fitch’s rebranding efforts will actually be or if it will be able to reverse its downwards sales trajectory, although many industry experts doubt that the retailer can compete with cheaper and trendier fast-fashion competitors and increasing competition from eCommerce.

“Once all the rage, Abercrombie & Fitch has fallen into disfavor with youngsters, who are now flocking to cheaper and trendier fare offered by fashion brands such as Forever 21, Zara and H&M,” investment analyst John Persinos wrote for TheStreet. “Weighing on the entire retail apparel industry are onerous student debts, stubbornly high youth unemployment levels, a tepid economy recovery and competition from eCommerce.”