Tees emblazoned with phrases deemed offensive to women have been yanked from Abercrombie & Fitch
clothing stores thanks to a group of teen girls who launched a
nationwide “girlcott.” Bowing to pressure from the public and
supporters of the Allegheny County Girls as Grantmakers (the group of
nearly two dozen girls who spearheaded the protest), the retailer
announced Friday that it is pulling two shirts off the market: one with
the slogan “Gentlemen Prefer Tig Old Bitties” and a second reading,
“With These, Who Needs Brains?” across the chest. “We recognize that
the shirts in question, while meant to be humorous, might be troubling
to some,” the company said in a statement. Several more questionable
tees — with expressions like “Blondes Are Adored, Brunettes Are
Ignored,” “I Had A Nightmare I Was A Brunette,” “Do I Make You Look
Fat” and “No Money, No Car, No Chance” — are still available but could
be pulled, pending negotiations with the girls later this month. The
group has offered to help A&F come up with more empowering messages
to put on its clothing in the future. The idea for the boycott came
during a meeting the girls had at a retreat this summer. As they were
brainstorming ideas of what they could do to make a difference in their
community, discussion soon shifted to the Abercrombie tees, which many
of them saw as “nasty and disgusting,” said 13-year-old Jettie Fields,
the group’s co-chair. “There’s a certain degree to where those shirts
can be funny, but with the one that said, ‘With These, Who Needs
Brains?,’ I think that’s really pushing it and takes it too far,”
Fields said. “Girls need to know it’s not necessary to wear these
shirts, and that if they stop buying them, then Abercrombie will stop
selling them.” The group held a press conference and then was blown
away by the amount of support and media coverage the boycott received,
Fields said. “We had no idea it would get this far, so we’re all just
really happy,” she said. “I was like, ‘Wow, people are actually taking
us seriously. They don’t just see as a group of little girls.’ The fact
that we were able to take down a huge corporation and have them listen
to us, that’s an awesome victory.” “We are delighted they won,” said
Sarah Gould, president of the Ms. Foundation for Women. “These T-shirts
… are potentially dangerous to girls and their health because it
reinforces the message that girls are only as good as what their bodies
are, and that’s very undermining to a girl’s healthy development. This
girlcott just proves that today’s teen girl is much smarter, more aware
and very socially active. She won’t blindly follow a trend or wear
clothes from a brand just because it is deemed ‘cool.’ “ This isn’t the
first time Abercrombie
has come under fire for the phrases on its clothing. In 2003 the chain
was criticized for a series of tees that featured caricatures of Asians
along with phrases like “Two Wongs Can Make It White” (in a mock
dry-cleaning business ad) and “Get Your Buddha On The Floor.” Riam Dean
has a prosthetic arm that attaches at the elbow, and she typically
wears a sweater to cover the prosthetic. While A&F employees are
required to wear jeans and a polo shirt, she was given permission to
wear a white cardigan while working on the floor. But only a few days
after she started work, the store was paid a visit by the “visual
team.” This group’s purpose is to sure the shop and its staff look up
to code. One of the members of the team demanded she take off the
cardigan, but she insisted she had permission to wear it. Nevertheless,
she was asked by management to continue her employment in the
stockroom, far out of the public eye. Management claimed that she
“violated the ‘Look Policy,” which is an imperative part of working for
such a prestigious clothing outlet. As if she could help the fact that
she is, unfortunately, missing an arm. Totally her fault, I suppose.
The nerve. Pssh. Riam sucked it up and commenced her stockroom duties,
normally reserved for the “underlings” (i.e., ethnic minorities) of
Abercrombie & Fitch “society” and received a telephone call at home
a few days later, asking if she would continue on board with the
company’s stockroom until their winter uniforms came in, which
consisted of long-sleeved tops. She quit on the spot. Riam, who was
born without a forearm, has utilized a prosthetic appendage for as long
as she can remember. However, she never let her physical handicap
become just that - a handicap. Dean is currently a student at Queen
Mary University, located in London, and is pursuing a barrister’s
degree. A&F has never been a stranger to discrimination suits; one
was recently settled in the US for discrimination during the hiring
process in that they would allegedly only hire “young and beautiful”
men and women to work in their stores. I am not one of those sue-crazy
citizens. I think that a lot of the lawsuits nowadays are setups. A lot
of people abuse the legal system and look for loopholes to sue over
practically everything. I have a family member quite like that and it
drives me up the frigging wall. Yet, I hope Riam gets every penny. I
hope she triple-sues. I hope after the suit goes through, she receives
her requested money and additional funds for pain and suffering. The
embarrassment at her treatment by A&F must be immense. Starting off
with Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF), an investor bought the Nov.
30-35 call spread 5,000 times, and simultaneously sold 5,000 Nov. 17.5
puts; the investor paid 20 cents to do this multi-legged trade. ANF has
been under pressure for months due in part to declining sales numbers,
and the shares are currently trading down 55 cents to $25.46. It’s
interesting to note, however, that at least one investor is expressing
bullishness on the clothing retailer. The Nov. 30 calls were home to
open interest of 982 contracts, while the Nov. 35 calls were home to
open interest of 281 contracts. The Nov. 17.5 puts were home to open
interest of 577 contracts. ANF shares have climbed more than 70% since
Nov. 20 when the shares dipped to a 52-week low of $14.15. However,
they are down from the low 30s reached in early June. J.C. Penney
Company (NYSE: JCP) shares dropped about 67 cents to $25.93 yesterday,
but one investor was expressing bullishness on the retailer and sold
5,000 July 22 puts for around 40 cents. JCP stock was trading at $25.81
at the time of this trade. The in-the-money July 22 puts, which were
trading down two cents on the day, were home to open interest of 275
contracts. JCP did not announce significant news yesterday, but at
least one investor could be betting that the stock has more room to
rally. The investor needs JCP shares to expire higher than $21.60 come
July expiration to make money - the stock does not necessarily need to
rally, it just needs to hold around its current levels. Abercrombie
sale has rallied 85% since reaching a 52-week low of $14.18 on March 9.
Looking at the July 29 calls in Coach (NYSE: COH), an investor sold
1,500 of these calls for 45 cents with the stock up 31 cents on the day
to $26.55. We also saw call sellers in the July 30 calls, which were
trading down five cents. The in-the-money July 30 calls were home to
open interest of 1,972 contracts. It’s interesting that COH shares were
up on a down market day, but an analyst from Lazard Capital raised his
expectation of the company’s new “Poppy” collection because of a boost
in media and customer buzz before it launches this Friday. Despite this
rally, we saw at least one bearish investor betting that COH shares
could drop below $30 in the next month.
