GLOBAL – UNITED STATES, MAY 17, 2013 – LA-based writer Greg Karber is offering Abercrombie & Fitch a facelift and a lecture for its skewed brand principle in his viral video #FitchTheHomeless.
For two and half minutes, Karber slams Abercrombie & Fitch for being a "terrible company", alluding to this comment CEO Mike Jeffries made to Salon magazine in 2006: "We go after the cool kids. A lot of people don’t belong, and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely." Karber points to the company’s policy of hiring only attractive people and refusing to carry XL and XXL sizes for women.
So Karber decided to raid Goodwill’s "douchebag section", picked out Abercrombie & Fitch-labeled clothing, donated them to homeless people in LA’s Skid Row and encouraged his audience to do the same. In just three days, the video was played 4.3 million times and has sparked social media outrage.
But it’s not just Jeffries who’s taking the heat. Karber also shares in the backlash with some comments referring to his use of homeless people as pawns.
Jeffries addressed the issue through a note on the Abercombie & Fitch’s Facebook page saying: "While I believe this 7 year old, resurrected quote has been taken out of context, I sincerely regret that my choice of words was interpreted in a manner that has caused offense. A&F is an aspirational brand that, like most specialty apparel brands, targets its marketing at a particular segment of customers. However, we care about the broader communities in which we operate and are strongly committed to diversity and inclusion. We hire good people who share these values. 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."
