Abercrombie & Fitch hires investment bank to field takeover interest
10 May 2017
Tip US teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co has hired an investment bank to field takeover interest from other retailers, Reuters yesterday reported, citing people familiar with the situation.
Reuters reported that Abercrombie & Fitch has hired investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners to handle the takeover approaches.
In March, Abercrombie & Fitch reported a 7-per cent fall in sales, its 16th straight quarterly sales decline.
Its share price has dropped from a high of $24.70 in May last year to $12.64. Its current market value is around $860 million.
In January, the company announced it would be cutting 150 jobs at its corporate headquarters and would let the leases of approximately 60 US stores expire. This move came after it closed several other stores.
It recently announced a partnership with online fashion retailer Zalora, which has a presence in 11 countries, including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.
The agreement gave Abercrombie access to Zalora's 600 million online customers, located mainly in Southeast Asia, where the company does not have much of a retail presence.
Abercrombie & Fitch is an American retailer that focuses on upscale casual wear for teenagers through its own namesake brand and two other offshoot brands: Abercrombie Kids & Hollister Co.
It was founded in 1892 by David T Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch, and currently operates 1,049 stores.
Its main competitors are Aéropostale and American Eagle Outfitters. Its subsidiary, Abercrombie Kids, competes with Aéropostale's PS, and American Eagle
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