Among the many changes Abercrombie & Fitch is making since its longtime CEO, Mike Jeffries, was ousted last December is giving its store associates more leeway to make changes at the store level.
On the retailer's second-quarter conference call with analysts, Jonathan Ramsden, COO and EVP, A&F, said store associates — in particular, store managers — at both its flagship chain and Hollister now have "greater autonomy to make changes within the stores."
He added, "If they see something selling well, they can move it within the store. They have some latitude around moving fixtures. We're also supporting them with some additional training in how they interact with customers and directing them to spend more of the hours that are within the store on customer-facing activities rather than back office-type activities."
The changes are complemented by an incentive scheme set up at the store level tied to the store's sales performance.
Asked in the Q&A session by an analyst wondering why associates "seem much happier and a lot less stressed," Christos Emilios Angelides said associates are responding favorably to the greater control and incentives.
Photo: RetailWire
"It makes a big difference," said Mr. Angelides. "It means they can have impact on their own sales and they can see if they react in a certain way and they get a positive result. I'm sure that that motivates them."
The greater autonomy represents a significant shift from the micromanagment style of Mr. Jeffries, who oversaw all merchandising decisions as well as how associates looked and behaved.
New management has also improved sightlines throughout the store by removing various props and fixtures, toned down scent and music levels, and brightened the lighting in stores.
A&F spelled out many of the changes in an internal note in April, although getting most of the attention at the time was the decision to shift way from sexualized marketing. At the time, A&F said that the sales-driven incentive program had started in February and that they were giving managers more autonomy over product placement and other store details "so stores won't feel as prescriptive."
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