Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (A&F) is an American lifestyle retailer, founded in 1892 and currently focusing on contemporary clothing targeting customers in their early 20's to mid 40's.

In 1988, Oshman's sold the brand and its operations to Columbus, Ohio-based The Limited (parent company of several retail clothing chains, including Victoria's Secret).

Under The Limited, which later rebranded itself as L Brands, A&F gradually shifted its focus to young adults, was later spun off as a separate, publicly traded company,[15] and eventually grew into one of the largest apparel firms in the United States.

A&F also changed the job title of store employees from "models" to "brand representatives", and allowed a less tightly controlled, more individualist dress code.

Having for years used high-grade materials in the manufacture of its merchandise, and pricing them at "near-luxury" levels, the company introduced the trademark Casual Luxury[29] as a fictional dictionary term with multiple definitions such as "[using] the finest cashmere, pima cotton, and highest quality leather to create the ultimate in casual, body conscious clothing,"[30] and "implementing and/or incorporating time honored machinery ...to produce the most exclusive denim..."[30] This upscale image has allowed it to open stores in international high-end locations and further promote the image by pricing its merchandise at almost double the American prices.

[31] Following a lighter earnings announcement in August 2014,[32] A&F shifted its business strategy a degree to trendier styles and faster production processes, effectively embracing fast fashion while retaining its upmarket prestige in contrast to its competitors.

[33] In 2018, Abercrombie successfully shifted its target market to an older demographic to include not just teenagers but younger adults in their early 20's to mid 40's.

However, after a 2003 settlement with California state labor regulators, A&F allowed brand reps to wear any logo-free clothing, as long as it corresponded with the season and A&F's style.

Retail analyst Chris Boring warns that the company's brands are a "little more susceptible" should recession hit, because their specialties are premium-priced goods rather than necessities.

Analyst Bruce Watson warned that the company risked finding itself transformed into "a cautionary tale of a store that was left by the wayside when it declined to change with the times".

[44] In 2002, the company sold a shirt featuring the slogan "Wong Brothers Laundry Service – Two Wongs Can Make It White," with smiling figures in conical Asian hats, an offensive depiction of 19th century Chinese immigrants to the U.S.[45] A&F discontinued the designs and apologized after a boycott started by a Stanford University Asian American student group.

[46] That same year, Abercrombie Kids removed a line of thong underwear sold for girls in pre-teen children's sizes after parents mounted nationwide storefront protests.

The first incident involved a shirt featuring the phrase, "It's All Relative in West Virginia," playing on the trope that incestuous relationships are supposedly common in rural America.

[49] In 2005, the Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania launched a "Girlcott" of the store to protest the sale of T-shirts displaying messages such as "Who needs brains when you have these?"

[52] Because of extensive counterfeiting of its products, the company launched a brand protection program in 2006 to combat the problem worldwide (focusing more on China, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea) by working with law enforcement globally.

The company says that the program "will improve current practices and strategies by focusing on eliminating the supply of illicit Abercrombie & Fitch products.

"[54] In November 2011, Sorrentino filed a lawsuit against the company after it allegedly violated his copyrights in making shirts that said "The Fitchuation" and "GTL...You Know The Deal".

He also stated, "We are completely opposed to any discrimination, bullying, derogatory characterizations or other anti-social behavior based on race, gender, body type or other individual characteristics.

Electronic dance music meant to create an upbeat atmosphere may be played at sound levels as high as 90 decibels, and comparable to heavy construction machinery and harmful to the ears.

International expansion began in 2005, with the long-term goal of opening flagships for A&F (and eventually all its brands), in high-profile locations worldwide "at a deliberate pace".

[78] Since then the company has opened locations in Dubai and plans to expand deeper into the Middle East with stores in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.

[87] In an attempt to more effectively reach the brand's ideal "college-age" customer, the company tested two experimental campus stores in August 2018, both of which have since closed.

[92] The company agreed to a settlement of the class-action suit, which required the company to (1) pay $40 million to African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and women who applied and were not hired or worked in certain store positions, (2) revise its hiring, performance measurement, and promotion policies, (3) revise its internal complaint procedures, (4) appoint a Vice President of Diversity, (5) hire 25 recruiters to seek out minority applicants, (6) discontinue the practice of recruiting employees at primarily white fraternities and sororities, (7) include more minorities in marketing materials, (8) report to a neutral court-appointed monitor twice per year regarding its progress in those areas, and (9) report to the court once per year.

Dean, who was born without a left forearm, claimed that although she was initially given special permission to wear clothing that covered her prosthetic limb, she was soon told that her appearance breached the company's "Look Policy" and sent to work in the stockroom, out of sight of customers.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 17-year-old Samantha Elauf said she applied, in June 2008, for a sales position at the Abercrombie Kids store in the Woodland Hills Mall, located in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The firm was suspected of only hiring personnel under 25 years old, making heavy demands on the physical appearance of its staff and rewarding a premium to male models that work shirtless.

[104] In November 2009, the company was added to the "Sweatshop Hall of Shame 2010" by the worker advocacy group International Labor Rights Forum.

[105] In 2009, the company was fined more than $115,000 by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights for refusing to let a teenage girl help her sister, who has autism, try on clothes in a fitting room.

The amount of the fine reflected "pushback" by the company according to Michael K. Browne, the legal affairs manager of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

The lawsuit was based on a trade-dress claim, stating that American Eagle had very closely mimicked the company's products' visual appearance and packaging.