Clothing is one of the biggest industries in the world right now, and only a handful of companies can make heritage claims as bold as Abercrombie and Fitch (A&F).
Founded in 1892, it is one of the worldโs oldest and biggest apparel manufacturers, with headquarters in several countries and a market value of 3 Billion USD.
Key Takeaways
- Abercrombie targets an older demographic with upscale, preppy clothing.
- Hollister caters to a younger audience, offering casual, Southern California-inspired attire.
- Both brands fall under the umbrella of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. but maintain distinct identities.
Abercrombie vs Hollister
Abercrombie is a smaller subsidiary of Abercrombie and Fitch compared to Hollister. Abercrombie targets kids aged between 5 and 14, while Hollister targets teens and young adults aged between 14 and 21. Abercrombie hands out brown paper bags, whereas Hollister hands out bags with fabric handles.
ย Abercrombie makes products for a much younger audience. Their main targets are children and preteens from the ages of 7 to 16.
Thus, the products made by Abercrombie are designed and stylized according to the fashion market of this pre-adolescent to adolescent age group. Abercrombie is also older than Hollister.
On the other hand, the Hollister part of the Abercrombie and Fitch group eyes a comparatively older group of buyers. This includes teenagers from 14 to 18 years old.
This is a comparatively mature and older age group, and hence the products offered are also stylized and designed keeping in mind the general maturity of the age.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Abercrombie | Hollister |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Abercrombie is a direct subsidiary of Abercrombie and Fitch | Hollister is the largest sister company of the Abercrombie and Fitch group |
| Market | Abercrombie makes apparel for the preteen market | Hollister makes clothes for an older age group and the teen market |
| Target age | The main target age of Abercrombie is the pre-adolescent age group, from ages 7 to 16 | Hollister targets a comparatively older age group, from 14 to 18 years. |
| Company size | Abercrombie is a small part of the A&F group | Hollister is the biggest company of the A&F group |
| Company founded | Abercrombie was founded before the other subsidiaries | Hollister was founded after Abercrombie |
What is Abercrombie?
Abercrombie is of the sister companies of the A&F group. It is a part of the American lifestyle retailer, which focuses more on the fashion market of a younger audience, specifically the age group of 7 to 16 years.
This is a much younger age group, and thus the products offered are also designed and stylized, keeping in mind this specific target groupโs fashion trends and design elements.
It was founded in 1998, and it is a comparatively smaller subsidiary of the group. It was designed to be the kiddie version of the company it is based on.
Hence it was designed to produce products with the same quality as the original company but for a much smaller and younger buyer group.
It was targeted specifically to cater to the age group of 7 to 16 years, and it was also marketed with the tagline โclassic coolโ and โAbercrombie kidsโ.ย ย ย ย
Having such a young and uniform age group, the product design and styling are not as varied as the other sister companies of the group.
Nonetheless, the company was able to widen the market spectrum of A&F and allowed it to cover a varied market, catering to the needs of the old as well as the young.
What is Hollister?
Hollister is the biggest subsidiary of the A&F group. It is one the biggest clothing retailer in America and is among the top five clothing brands, focusing on and creating products for the teenage market.
It is the biggest competitor of other similar clothing manufacturers, such as Aeropostale, H&M, and Gap, and is also one of the highest-grossing companies in the consumer apparel market.
Hollister, similar to its sister companies, makes products for a specific market. The company explicitly focuses on the teen market, specifically the age group of 14 to 18 years.
Thus the products made by Hollister differ a lot from the other products of A&F, as the design details and fashion elements are oriented more towards the younger buyer group.
This gives the parent company a big advantage, as owing to Hollister, it can expand in other sectors of the clothing market, specifically the teen and adolescent groups.
Hollister has been a great success for A&F as the products offered have been a hit in the market, bringing in big sales numbers ever since its inception in the year 2000.
Because of Hollister and its other sister companies, A&F has been able to acquire a huge portion of the clothing market.
Main Differences Between Abercrombie and Hollister
- Abercrombie is a subsidiary of the American clothing retailer Abercrombie and Fitch. Hollister is a sister company of Abercrombie.
- Abercrombie is the older of the two companies, as it was formed in the year 1998. On the other hand, Hollister was formed in the year 2000, which makes it comparatively newer.
- Hollister is the biggest of the subsidiaries. It is one of the largest apparel companies in America. Abercrombie is comparatively smaller and is a sub-division of the A&F group.
- Abercrombie makes products for a specific age group of 7 to 16 years. Hollister has a target buyer group of the age of 14 to 18, which covers a significant portion of the market.
- Hollister is very large and has huge competition from other such companies as H&M, Gap and so on. Abercrombie is comparatively smaller and thus does not have much completion.
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1509/jmr.15.0247
- https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-00957177.html
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Chara Yadav holds MBA in Finance. Her goal is to simplify finance-related topics. She has worked in finance for about 25 years. She has held multiple finance and banking classes for business schools and communities. Read more at her bio page.
