Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) (A&F) is an American clothing retailer. Marketed as a lifestyle brand, the company encompasses five brands: the namesake flagship brand Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, Hollister Co., RUEHL No.925, and Gilly Hicks. Stores operate in the United States, Canada, and England. Competitor brands include Gap, American Eagle Outfitters, Aéropostale, Buckle, Urban Outfitters, and Rugby Ralph Lauren.
Founded in 1892 by David T. Abercrombie, A&F had been an outfitter of sporting and excursion goods. It struggled financially from the late 1960s until it was purchased by The Limited in 1988 and repositioned, under the management of Michael S. Jeffries (current Chairman & CEO), as the "Casual Luxury" lifestyle brand in present day.
Prominent figures who patronized the company in its excursion goods days include Teddy Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, Clark Gable, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway (who bought the gun he used to commit suicide at Abercrombie & Fitch Co.), John F. Kennedy, Ernest Shackleton, and Dwight Eisenhower.
