Abercrombie & Fitch under investigation

Fashion giant Abercrombie & Fitch is under investigation, for seemingly only employing good looking sales assistants in one of their flagship stores in Paris. The world-renowned American brand is currently being investigated by French watchdog body Defenseur des Droits, who brought forward the claim of employment being based solely on appearance.

Abercrombie & Fitch has been scrutinised before for its exclusive marketing approach and CEO Mike Jeffries was quoted in a 2006 interview saying that the brand was provided solely for “cool, good-looking people”.  He also raised eyebrows earlier this year when author Robin Lewis stated that Jefferies doesn’t want “larger people shopping in the store”.

Dominique Baudis, head of the watchdog stated: “Though physical appearance may legitimately be a key and determining professional factor for models, that’s not so for sales staff.”

The investigation aims to conclude at the end of 2013, after researching and giving their recommendations to the company. We are interested to see where this will lead, the future of the company and indeed the future of employment and sales in similar brands.

Bethan Williams