Abercrombie & Fitch Relaunches Iconic Fragrance, Fierce

NEW ALBANY, Ohio, Jan. 31, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abercrombie & Fitch., a division of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) has unveiled a redefined persona for its iconic and bestselling fragrance, Fierce. Launching in stores this weekend globally, and online, its campaign, #FaceYourFierce, explores the modern notion of what it means to be fierce through a sensitive, diverse and inclusive lens.  

The new campaign showcases the stories of a group of millennial men and women, and how they ‘Face Their Fierce’, and find their strength in the face of adversity. The new Faces of Fierce include athletes, LGBTQ+ activists, mental health advocates, and a group of Malibu surfers who, as volunteer firefighters, bravely fought the recent fires.

The fragrance, which has a newly imagined bottle, remains unchanged, with notes of marine breeze, sandalwood, sensual musk and sage. As part of the year long campaign, three limited-edition bottles will launch in May, September and November with the portraits of athletes Romelu Lukaku, striker with Manchester United, Jayson Tatum with the Boston Celtics, and Ryan Garcia, an American professional boxer in the Super Featherweight division, respectively.

Fierce has ranked in the top four highest selling men’s fragrances in the United States for the past seven years, and remains a top performing item for the brand. Now redefined, a new generation of individuals bring to life the essence of the Fierce evolved positioning; an exploration of the unexpected and emotional aspects of inner strength. The heart being the strongest muscle in the body, the campaign and stories are grounded in the idea of strength as compassion, vulnerability and humility.

The campaign is featured across the brand’s platforms, with in-store experiences and a social call to action for customers to share how they ‘Face Their Fierce’. In appreciation of the Malibu volunteer firefighters who have faced their fierce for their community, Abercrombie & Fitch is making a donation in support of California wildfire prevention, education, and relief. Customers can also elect to round-up at the register in stores and online to support these efforts. 

The new faces of Fierce are: Julian Schneyder (Judo Fighter), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United Soccer player), Jayson Tatum (Small Forward-Boston Celtics NBA), Ryan Garcia (Professional Boxer), Lyon Herron (surfer, photographer, survivor), Julia Muniz (surfer), Giovanni Messina (Kiteboarder), Brianna Hildebrand (Actress, LGBTQ+ activist), Keiynan Londsdale (Actor, Musician, LGBTQ+ activist), Deon Hinton (Content Creator), Jon Herrmann (actor), Anthony Kongphan (Pro Gamer, St Jude’s Children’s Hospital ambassador), Chella Man (Artist, Transgender / Deaf Activist), Akintunde Ahmad (Journalist and Diversity in Education Advocate), Ben Nemtin (Author, Speaker, Founder of ‘The Buried Life’), Napoleon Jinnies (First Male NFL Pro Cheerleader and Make-Up Artist), Elyse Fox (Director, founder of NGO ‘Sad Girls Club’), Aaron Cadell (Baker, founder of ‘Mr Holmes Bakehouse’ in LA), Ahmed Mahmood (YouTuber, Comedian), and the Malibu volunteer firefighters.

Kristin Scott, President, Global Brands, of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., said: “We are proud to introduce the redefined Fierce for our customers, and inspire them to see and share how they ‘Face Their Fierce’. This iconic fragrance, which has been and will always be an integral part of the Abercrombie & Fitch brand, is ready to make a new and unforgettable impression.”

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995
A&F cautions that any forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) contained in this Press Release or made by management or spokespeople of A&F involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various important factors, many of which may be beyond the company's control. Words such as "estimate," "project," "plan," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements. Except as may be required by applicable law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. The following factors, in addition to those disclosed in “ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS” of A&F's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 3, 2018 and in A&F's subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, in some cases have affected, and in the future could affect, the company's financial performance and could cause actual results for Fiscal 2018 and beyond to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any of the forward-looking statements included in this Press Release or otherwise made by management: changes in global economic and financial conditions, and the resulting impact on consumer confidence and consumer spending, as well as other changes in consumer discretionary spending habits, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and liquidity; failure to anticipate customer demand and changing fashion trends and to manage our inventory commensurately could adversely impact our sales levels and profitability; our market share may be negatively impacted by increasing competition and pricing pressures from companies with brands or merchandise competitive with ours; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations; our ability to attract customers to our stores depends, in part, on the success of the shopping malls or area attractions that our stores are located in or around; the impact of war, acts of terrorism or civil unrest could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition; the expansion of our direct-to-consumer sales channels and omnichannel initiatives are significant components of our growth strategy, and the failure to successfully develop our position across all channels could have an adverse impact on our results of operations; our international growth strategy and ability to conduct business in international markets may be adversely affected by legal, regulatory, political and economic risks; failure to successfully implement our strategic plans could have a negative impact on our growth and profitability; failure to protect our reputation could have a material adverse effect on our brands; our business could suffer if our information technology systems are disrupted or cease to operate effectively; we may be exposed to risks and costs associated with cyber-attacks, credit card fraud and identity theft that would cause us to incur unexpected expenses and reputation loss; our reliance on DCs makes us susceptible to disruptions or adverse conditions affecting our supply chain; changes in cost, availability and quality of raw materials, labor, transportation, and trade relations could cause manufacturing delays and increase our costs; we depend upon independent third parties for the manufacture and delivery of all our merchandise, and a disruption of the manufacture or delivery of our merchandise could result in lost sales and could increase our costs; we rely on the experience and skills of our senior executive officers and associates, the loss of whom could have a material adverse effect on our business; extreme weather conditions, including natural disasters, pandemic disease and other unexpected events, could negatively impact our facilities, systems and stores, as well as the facilities and systems of our vendors and manufacturers, which could result in an interruption to our business and adversely affect our operating results; fluctuations in our tax obligations and effective tax rate may result in volatility in our results of operations; our litigation exposure could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations; failure to adequately protect our trademarks could have a negative impact on our brand image and limit our ability to penetrate new markets; changes in the regulatory or compliance landscape and compliance with changing regulations for accounting, corporate governance and public disclosure could adversely affect our business, results of operations and reported financial results; and, our Asset-Based Revolving Credit Agreement and our Term Loan Agreement include restrictive covenants that limit our flexibility in operating our business.

About Abercrombie & Fitch: 
Abercrombie & Fitch is a specialty retailer of high quality apparel and accessories for men and women. For more than 125 years, the iconic brand has outfitted innovators, explorers and entrepreneurs. Today, it reflects the updated attitude of the modern consumer, while remaining true to its heritage of creating expertly crafted products with an effortless, American style.

Abercrombie & Fitch operates approximately 270 locations worldwide as of the end of Q3 2018.  It is the namesake brand of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF).  The Company’s other brands include abercrombie kids and Hollister Co. 

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