Rejoice! Soon enough, the days of teenagers flocking to the mall to gratuitously overpay for a cheeky (see: overtly sexual) shirt that says something like "Often Speaks Out Of Turn" or "Who Needs Brains When You Have These?" are diminishing! And while I'd love to credit the increasingly better judgement of teens for the decline in ubiquitous moose-stamped graphic tee's, it seems Abercrombie & Fitch itself is responsible - the retailer has already closed 135 stores over the past two years and is on track to cut more than 175 more domestic stores over the next three years in contention with its plan to trim its "B-mall" fat in America while piling money into its international bases, as WWD reports.
“A smaller [U.S.] base in better malls play to the quality level of the A&F business around the world,” CEO Mike Jeffries said. “The overall economics of our business in Europe remain very strong. Our top line in Europe grew 85 percent for the quarter. Hollister Europe, which now represents approximately two-thirds of our store business in Europe, continued to [see comparable-store sales growth] despite a very difficult environment.”
I don't care how many shirtless "models" you have stationed outside your cologne-soaked store: it sucks to be Europe right now.
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