A&F Group Recorded A 3% Strong Rebound In Same Store Sales Growth After Changing Image.

The affirmative movement rises all over the world and affects all walks of life.

If Victoria 's Secret Vitoria's secret is in an incurable position and shows that the Sex Sells of garment industry may no longer work, then the strong rebound of Abercrombie&Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) over the past two years and the bosses of the fashion industry under the movement of Metoo are proving that the fashion industry has started the "Sex Poison" rule.

As of the four quarter of February 2nd, the US youth Apparel Group recorded a 3% growth in same store sales, of which the sub line fast fashion brand Hollister continued to grow, and the same store sales rose 6%, while Abercrombie&Fitch brand store sales fell 2% due to the design mistakes in the tops and dresses.

During the reporting period, the US market recorded a 5% increase in same store sales, while the international market fell 2%.

Fran Horowitz, the hero of group revival, said that after updating the concept of stores, the operation efficiency has improved significantly.

She also said that Abercrombie&Fitch Co. has achieved the same store sales growth for 6 consecutive quarters and two fiscal years, ending 2018 with a strong trend, and for the first time, the data channel exceeded $1 billion, and more importantly, the improvement of gross margin and operating leverage. The adjusted EBIT profit rate has increased by 100 basis points, and the net profit after adjustment has increased 77% over the whole year.

Fran Horowitz, who was promoted to group CEO in February 1, 2017, has led the trend of women's CEO in clothing and department stores this year. Kohl's s Corp. (NYSE:KSS), department store, J.C.Penney Co.Inc. (NYSE:JCP) Penny department store rarely nominated the first female in the company history.

In the early years of last year as CEO, Fran Horowitz immediately launched the concept of a brighter and brighter store for Abercrombie&Fitch, replacing the concept of dark and perfumed stores that lasted for 15 years. At the same time, the brand launched a new This is the Time TV advertising campaign before the holiday season in 2017, completely eroding and focusing on the healthy and positive image of teenagers.

The ad is also the first TV advertisement that a naked model has not appeared for the first time in 10 years.

At present, about 10% of the Abercrombie&Fitch stores are renovated as new concepts, and this year will continue to increase by 10%. In 2015, the fast fashion Hollister brand has completed 45% of the store pformation, and will increase to 55% by the end of this year.

Fran Horowitz said that although the proportion of online sales is higher, the company will continue to invest in physical stores.

In November last year, she was promoted to Hollister President Kristin Scott as the global president of group brand and the two largest brand manager.

In the fourth quarter, net profit of Abercrombie&Fitch Co. rose by 30.6%, from $74 million 210 thousand to $96 million 936 thousand, and earnings per share increased from $1.05 to US $1.42, adjusted 1.35 US dollars far more than Refinitiv expected US $1.15.

During the reporting period, Abercrombie&Fitch Co. revenue fell 3.1% to $1 billion 155 million 600 thousand, compared with $1 billion 193 million 200 thousand in the 2017 fiscal year, of which Abercrombie&Fitch brand income fell 9% to 442 million 700 thousand US dollars, while Hollister revenue increased 1% to 712 million 900 thousand dollars.

The group also expects positive sales and same store sales performance in 2019. Revenue growth is expected to increase from 2-4% to 36.6-37.3 billion, exceeding the market forecast of US $3 billion 610 million, while gross margin is expected to be slightly improved.

The expected quarterly results stimulated Abercrombie&Fitch Co.'s share price to soar by nearly 10%. After the opening jump, the market jumped by 13.16%, and it rose more and more. It rose 20.37% to 25.70 dollars a day, and the highest value was 26.59 US dollars, or 24.54%.

However, Abercrombie&Fitch Co. closed 29 stores last year and opened 22 new stores. During the period, there were 11 Abercrombie&Fitch brand outlets, including 20 new stores in the North American market, 5 new stores in the North American market, and 5 new stores in the international market.

Fran Horowitz said the company will continue to close 40 inefficient stores this year, and with more than 50% of the lease expires in the next few years, more stores are expected to close after the assessment.

In the past 8 years, the company has closed about 475 stores. As of early February, the US youth Apparel Group operates 861 stores, including 339 Abercrombie stores and 541 Hollister stores.

Although the retail industry in the US has achieved the strongest performance in the past 10 years in 2018, the tide of closing shop has become increasingly fierce.

Coresight Research's recent report shows that in the first two months of 2019, the number of stores announced by the US retailer closed to 4300, which announced that two ShoeSource Payless ShoeSource accounts for 2300, while the clothing giant Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS), who has just released its annual results, is about to close 230 Gap American stores, while Victoria s Secret has announced the closure of 50 stores.

In 2018, Abercrombie&Fitch Co. revenue increased by 2.9% to $3 billion 590 million 100 thousand, compared with $3 billion 492 million 700 thousand in 2017, of which Abercrombie&Fitch brand income fell by 1% to 1 billion 437 million 600 thousand US dollars, while Hollister revenue increased 6% to 2 billion 152 million 500 thousand US dollars.

During the reporting period, the group's same store sales recorded an increase of 3%, while Abercrombie&Fitch and Hollister recorded 1% and 5% of the same store sales growth respectively. The same store sales growth of 6% in the US market offset the 2% decline in the international market.

The group's annual net profit rose by 648.8% to 78 million 808 thousand dollars, 2017 in fiscal year 10 million 525 thousand, and EPS increased from 0.10 US dollars to 1.08 US dollars.

Gross profit margin improved 50 basis points to 60.2% in the year, of which the gross profit 59.1% in the four quarter increased by 70 basis points annually.

Satisfied with the improvement of the group's Fran Horowitz over the past two years, she pointed out that YouGov's report also showed that Abercrombie&Fitch's brand reputation reached its highest level in 2012.

The 55 year old star CEO got over $10 million in 2017, and expects to raise its pay in 2018.

As of Wednesday's closing, Abercrombie&Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) shares have risen more than 28% so far this year, far exceeding the 3.49% increase in the general 500 index.