Abercrombie Pulled Off Fashion’s Boldest Rebrand and Won Gen Z Back

In the early 2000s, Abercrombie & Fitch was known for shirtless greeters, dimly lit stores, and an aggressively exclusionary brand persona. Fast forward to 2025, and the same brand is now a case study in redemption. What was once an icon of elitism is now a leader in inclusive, community-driven retail.

Abercrombie's transformation wasn’t just aesthetic. It was a full-stack marketing overhaul—touching everything from brand voice and loyalty programs to TikTok collaborations and experiential pop-ups. And the results speak for themselves: in 2023, Abercrombie posted $4.3B in revenue, followed by $4.95B in 2024—the highest in its history. Let’s unpack how it happened.

From Exclusion to Belonging -The Rebrand That Started It All

The brand’s old playbook—built on elitism and aspiration—was thrown out in 2017 when Fran Horowitz took over as CEO. After years of declining sales and lawsuits over discriminatory hiring, Abercrombie was at a tipping point.

Horowitz’s first move was cultural. She dismantled the toxic brand voice, banned shirtless greeters, and redefined the company mission. The new ethos? Every day should feel like the start of a long weekend—comfortable, confident, and inclusive (Diaz, 2024).

In 2022, Abercrombie launched the “Abercrombie Today” campaign. It starred real employees and diverse customers—not supermodels—and marked the public reset. The campaign didn't just drive PR; it aligned the brand with Gen Z's demand for authenticity (Wightman-Stone, 2022).

When TikTok Did What PR Couldn't -Organic Buzz Meets Cultural Timing

While the rebrand laid the foundation, it was TikTok that reintroduced Abercrombie to a new generation. In 2021–2022, the Curve Love high-rise jeans went viral—unsolicited try-on hauls from creators praising the fit, quality, and inclusivity flooded TikTok (Yaffe, 2021).

Rather than hijack the narrative, Abercrombie partnered with those same creators. They amplified what was working with paid boosts and influencer whitelisting.

The result? Over 500 million views on the #abercrombieToday hashtag and a surge in denim sales. The jeans became a fashion phenomenon, selling out multiple times and driving a measurable spike in site traffic (Stallard, 2024).

This virality wasn’t random—it was rooted in product-market fit and community sentiment. Abercrombie used UGC (user-generated content) not just for social proof, but to inform merchandising and ad targeting. For instance, viral creators were retargeted into Meta and TikTok ad audiences, converting curiosity into clicks.

Loyalty Isn’t Dead—It’s Data-Driven

Abercrombie’s CRM is one of the strongest in fashion retail. As of 2024, more than 70% of their customer base is enrolled in the myAbercrombie loyalty program (NRF, 2024).

It’s not gimmicky. Members receive early access to drops, targeted discounts, and personalized recommendations. This data feeds into high-performing email and SMS flows:

• Browse and cart abandonment recovery emails
• Product launch announcements tied to past behavior
• VIP-only store invites

Performance-wise, myAbercrombie is a retention engine. According to Talon.One (2024), VIP customers show significantly higher repeat purchase rates. In one Winter Sale, loyalty members received an extra 20% off, driving conversion spikes.

Paid Ads That Prioritize Profit

Abercrombie more than doubled its digital ad spend in 2023—from $28M to $59.5M (Stallard, 2024). But they didn’t rely on brute force.

Most spend went to performance channels like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube—campaigns that featured mid-tier influencers, not celebrity endorsements. A&F saw nearly 965M ad impressions in 2023, with 57% coming from Instagram and TikTok (Stallard, 2024).

Rather than offer blanket discounts, they ran ads focused on product drops—like the relaunch of the 90s jeans. These Back-in-Stock and product-focused campaigns outperformed promos, delivering high ROI with minimal markdowns.

ROAS figures aren't public, but gross margins tell the story: in 2023, A&F posted 62.9% gross margins, up 600bps YoY (Retail Dive, 2024).

This was also backed by a hybrid influencer-paid media model. Top-performing UGC was turned into whitelisted ads, combining authenticity with scale. Their performance marketing agency, PMG, optimized paid social toward conversion, while creative remained in-house to retain brand voice.

SEO- Abercrombie is Winning in Organic Search

Abercrombie’s organic search performance has seen a significant lift in the last 12 months. According to Ahrefs, the brand now ranks for over 771,000 keywords (+208K YoY), receives 3.4 million in monthly organic traffic (+1.2M), and holds a domain rating of 78 with over 20,400 referring domains (+9.2K) and 832,000 backlinks (+499K).

These numbers signal strong domain equity and growing authority—but the traffic is still largely driven by branded terms. The site ranks well for keywords like “Curve Love Jeans” or “Abercrombie Wedding Guest Dress,” but it’s underleveraged for mid-funnel or non-branded searches.

Unlike competitors investing in content hubs, Abercrombie lacks editorial SEO assets. There's no blog or fit guide structure to capture high-intent queries like “best jeans for curvy women” or “spring wedding guest outfits.”

A content strategy built around:

• Category-driven search demand (e.g., /collections/spring-wedding-style)
• Style-based long-tails (e.g., “casual work outfits for women”)
• Product use cases (e.g., “travel capsule wardrobe essentials”)

...could convert the brand’s authority into even higher traffic, with less dependency on paid acquisition.

With $1.2M in monthly traffic value, the SEO opportunity is now a conversion funnel waiting to be optimized. TacticOne’s recommendation: build out scalable content collections that tie search intent directly to product discovery.

Retail as a Marketing Channel - Turning Stores into Social Proof Machines

Abercrombie has reimagined physical stores as brand stages. Their flagship locations, updated with neutral tones and open layouts, are now used for events and social moments.

In 2023, the brand hosted a NYC pop-up styled like a wedding reception to launch the Wedding Shop collection (GlobeNewswire, 2023). Influencers, press, and VIPs attended—creating viral content and earned media coverage.

Another headline moment? The McLaren Formula 1 collaboration in late 2023. The launch featured a co-branded apparel line, in-store appearances by F1 drivers, and experiential events at A&F’s LA flagship (Stallard, 2024). It was an unexpected yet genius pairing that injected high-performance cool into Abercrombie’s casual luxury image.

Stores are also performance tools. A&F uses them to acquire loyalty members, offer same-day pickup, and test regional exclusives. This hybrid of retail + digital has made stores a conversion driver—not just a cost center.

The Financial Glow-Up

The strategy worked. Big time.

• 2023 revenue: $4.3B (+16% YoY)
• 2024 revenue: $4.95B (record high)
• Abercrombie brand comps: +23% in 2023
• Digital accounts for ~50% of revenue

The brand outperformed the retail sector, gaining market share in denim, dresses, and occasionwear (Sherman, 2024).

Wall Street noticed. The company’s stock jumped 268% from early 2022 to early 2024 (Fox, 2024). Operating margins improved, and credit ratings were upgraded (Retail Dive, 2024).

Customer acquisition costs remained stable, despite increased ad spend—thanks to loyalty and email-driven repeat revenue. The brand’s average order value also rose due to smarter merchandising and better inventory alignment.

Email Strategy - Segmentation That Sells

While social media gets the headlines, email is Abercrombie’s workhorse.

According to MailCharts (2023), 61% of A&F’s emails contain some form of promotion or time-sensitive offer. Flows include:

• Welcome series with subscriber-only discounts
• Post-purchase care and styling tips
• Back-in-stock alerts
• “Your Favorites Are Back” win-back campaigns

What sets A&F apart is segmentation. Email content is tailored by user type—loyalty status, purchase history, browsing behavior. For example, Curve Love shoppers are shown denim restocks, while wedding category browsers receive outfit guides.

A&F also uses email to pre-seed product drops. Loyalty VIPs often get 24-hour advance access via private links, boosting perceived exclusivity. These pre-drop emails tend to outperform broad promos in both open rate and conversion.

The brand has been experimenting with AI-powered product recs in email and app messaging since 2023—driven by first-party data from loyalty and ecommerce (NRF, 2024).

The Playbook That Worked - What Really Drove the Comeback

Abercrombie didn’t win back customers with a single campaign. It won them back with:

• Founder-like leadership (Horowitz) that rebuilt from culture outward
• A loyalty program with real retention mechanics
• Smart allocation of ad spend (from hype to performance)
• Experiential events that doubled as content goldmines
• A pivot from elitism to authenticity—delivered consistently
• CRM segmentation that personalized the journey across email and SMS

Most of all, they listened. To customers, culture, and conversion data.

What Marketers Can Learn - Takeaways for DTC Growth Leaders

Abercrombie’s story is more than a feel-good comeback—it’s a modern retail blueprint. Here are five takeaways growth marketers should borrow:

1. Don’t just rebrand—rebuild. Internal transformation must precede external perception.
2. Let your customers lead. UGC and community signals can become your best acquisition tool.
3. Use loyalty as leverage. Owned audiences are more profitable than acquired ones.
4. Make email feel human. Segmentation, timing, and relevance are non-negotiables.
5. Treat retail as media. Physical spaces can spark digital moments when designed with intent.

Abercrombie didn’t just get back on track—it wrote a new playbook. For any brand navigating relevance in a fragmented, post-cookie world, this is how you build staying power.

According to MailCharts, 61% of A&F’s emails contain some form of promotion or time-sensitive offer The brand has been experimenting with AI-powered product recs in email and app messaging since 2023—driven by first-party data from loyalty and ecommerce (NRF]).