Patrick Garot

The Myth of Abercrombie & Fitch

Thanks for this! I did a couple of ANF analyses on SA. Most timed appropriately, but I cannot believe ANF has hooked back up to the $30's again. Yours was a great indictment, and more thorough on the fashion side than anything I could dream of attempting. I'll be following you, and thanks again!

Questioning the Relevance of Abercrombie

Thank you all for your comments. I love the brand outside the US, but the US is the driver of 90% of sales and cash, and where the rubber will meet the road. Very high-priced leases in particular.

EU and other international will be great, but there's a 2-year payback at best on the cash used to create the stores.

My bigger point is that you can't really use ANF's "cash hoard" as a support to its stock valuation, because the money is already spent.

I will follow this up with an article prior ANF release of Q4, which will draw on the "cash is spent" theory. I expect the numbers to tell the story.

Thank you again for your comments. Keep posting.