The man behind Abercrombie & Fitch | Hacker News Reader

The man behind Abercrombie & Fitch

salon.com

10 pointsrms20 comments

There is something very wrong about that picture. It's like a picture of a 20 year old with a 60 year old's facial features photoshopped onto it.

plastic. surgery.

I don't understand how a smart person becomes so hopelessly out of touch with a reality that he make himself (his physical self) into something approaching grotesque.

Some people have a condition around constantly finding fault with their bodies and seeking enhancement. Their perceptions are skewed in ways similar to those with eating disorders.

I'm not saying this guy has a problem, just that I'm not surprised people can be unaware of how a great many people view them.

With those biceps, he may be taking human growth hormone.

Maybe he just lifts a lot of weights. I could definitely see him deciding to take HGH though. If he can afford it, more power to him.

A&F: revenue - $2 billion a year, valuation - $5 bil

Facebook: revenue - $150 mil, valuation - $15 bil

Growth potential, dude!

"Mike Jeffries is the Willie Wonka of the fashion industry.. Examples of his strange behavior abound. According to Business Week, at A&F headquarters Jeffries always goes through revolving doors twice, never passes employees on stairwells, parks his Porsche every day at the same angle in the parking lot (keys between the seats, doors unlocked), and has a pair of "lucky shoes" he wears when reading financial reports."

I am friends with a former A&F employee, who is very attractive and confident. Behind the soft-porn young american look/magalog that is the A&F marketing ethos, there is a darker side of requiring low-hourly-wage earning employees to spend nearly all their wages on A&F clothes (lawsuit was settled) and attractive employees being required to recruit other attractive employees (either sex) to work for A&F, whenever they were out and about (e.g. partying).

Regardless of his tactics and business ethics, I found the most interesting part to be his attitude and devotion.

One quote I found interesting is, "I really don't care what anyone other than our target customer thinks".

Is it legal to openly discriminate for attractiveness when hiring?

Or do they not have to discriminate, because ugly people never apply to work there?

I believe you can discriminate however you want as long as it doesn't involve race, age, sex, physical handicaps, military background, polygraphs, or explicit IQ testing. These things are specified by statute.

That can't be the whole story. A company hiring a roofer can't discriminate on the basis of physical handicap? What if he is in a wheelchair?

Are you sure about IQ testing?

That 'campus' sounds scary. Like Hitler Youth but with nicer shirts.

The Nazis had very nice shirts. The SS uniforms were designed by Hugo Boss.

I thought that kingkongrevenge was joking, but apparently Hugo Boss AG was founded in 1923 and became the official supplier of uniforms to the SA and SS guards ( http://www.no1-in-beauty.com/Articles/hugo_boss.htm ). The founder died in 1948 and his company started making suits in 1953.

Why was this downmodded? The close relationship between the Nazis and many prominent artists is well-known. Leni Riefenstahl was one of the most influential modernist directors. Rudolf Laban is taught to acting and dance students today. Nazism was highly aestheticized, and to great effect; Hitler's rallies were choreographed and so on. No doubt this is partly why many artists, including some great artists, were attracted to the Nazis.

$80 shirts, $100 pants ... no thanks.

I'd love to see what fraction of sales are ultimately paid for by mom and dad.

$100 isn't unreasonable for well made wool pants that can last the better part of a decade. But for cheap shit that will disintegrate within two years?!

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