Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), the brand that is well loved for its American-style, cool, casual and trendy, is now aggressively expanding into Asia. Before its grand opening in Singapore, 40 muscular half-naked men stood outside the still unopened store. The alluring smiles and eyes, free hugs, and photo shoot caused a stirring riot. In addition, A&F launched a giant four-floor advertisement at a traffic-heavy shopping area. A muscular topless man wearing extremely low-slung jeans in the giant billboard caught everyone’s attention in Singapore.
It is not the first time A&F has done a marketing campaign like this. It has been standard practice for all its flagship stores in recent years. However, these “hot guy” strategies have exploded in Singapore. The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore claimed that the ad is in contradiction of its “code of decency”, and the giant ad, which is charged as “lewd and inappropriate”, was ordered to be removed. News of the ad’s possible suspension provoked Singaporeans to comment furiously. People were discussing topics like:
“Is A&F too sexy for Singapore?”
“Is this ad too indecent for Orchard Road?”
Eventually, since many Singaporeans supported A&F, the billboard is now safe and sound on Orchard Road.
A&F is good at marketing campaigns and possesses a strong brand personality: sexy and young. A&F did the campaign similar to their past efforts, but the promotions in Singapore had great success since it occurred between different contexts and conflicts of culture. A&F triggered people’s emotions and created a special experience that helped the company to connect to its customers. The Singaporeans who had joined the campaign were excited to share photos and comment on social media. Those actions induced more and more people to respond and be attracted by A&F. Otherwise, the controversy of the campaign in Singapore is an opportunity for the Singaporeans who are unfamiliar with A&F to know the brand, and it provokes a desire to walk in the stores to satisfy their curiosity.
However, there are so many disparities in the clothing preferences between Asian and American: physical shapes, sizes, styles and cultures. Indeed, A&F did an excellent job on catching Singaporeans’ eyes with its opening. But the question is, does masculine image really match the Asian market trend? I am concerned with how A&F maintains its sales for long term via the sexy image in the conservative market. Furthermore, the apparel competition is fierce in Singapore. Competitors for A&F include western brands which are ambitious with Asian markets, as well as Asian brands which are familiar with the market.
A&F cleverly built up its brand image and conveyed information through the controversy in Singapore. However, except for the opening campaigns, in order to enhance its brand loyalty, I suggest A&F do more events to focus on Asian customers. For example, use more Asian models on catalogues to show customers that American style outfits also fit and look good on Asian people. Meanwhile, A&F should do more events to collaborate with celebrities or magazines to lead the new fashion trends in Asia. Last but not least, I suggest A&F conduct more market research to understand Asian purchase behavior and fashion points. With these suggestions, A&F can adjust their products to fit the Asian consumers’ needs.
How “hot” could A&F be in Singapore? Not only with fashion models, but also with the right marketing strategies.
