Abercrombie & Fitch to Close Store in S’pore on 2 May 2021; Online Store Still Active

If you’re still suffering from what doctors have termed Robinsons-less Syndrome, you may want to avoid reading this article.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a ruthless serial business killer, snuffing out beloved stores where consumers have shopped at for decades.

Some of the more popular ones include Robinsons, Naiise, TopShop, Sportslink, and BooksActually.

Since the pandemic is far from over, we can expect more businesses to cease operations as well.

And yet another one announced its closure recently.

Abercrombie & Fitch to Close Store in S’pore on 2 May 2021

Abercrombie & Fitch will be shuttering its sole physical store in the country for good on 2 May, to the dismay of its loyal customers.

The clothing company announced the move in an Instagram post on Sunday (18 Apr).

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Abercrombie & Fitch Singapore (@abercrombie_singapore)

“We’ve enjoyed being your Abercrombie”, the company said.

If you’re someone who’s been shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch for the last decade or so, you only have around 13 more days to shop at its physical store before it closes its doors to the public for good.

If you’ve been following the fashion brand for the last year or so, however, news of the closure wouldn’t have surprised you at all.

137 Stores Closed Worldwide in 2020

Last year was not a good one for Abercrombie & Fitch, to put it mildly.

According to Sourcing Journal, the speciality retailer closed 137 stores during 2020.

In Mar 2020, the brand announced the closure of all stores in North America and Europe, but maintained that those in the Asia-Pacific would remain open.

The closure of their Singapore store, however, could indicate a change in plans.

Shifting Online

When the company closed 7 flagship stores towards the end of last year, however, Chief Executive Fran Horowitz said it was due to a shift in brand positioning.

“These flagships, which, combined, are roughly 200,000 gross square feet, or 10% of the Abercrombie & Fitch brand global square footage, have taken an outsized portion of our time and resources for years and are not an accurate representation of the Abercrombie & Fitch brand today”, he said.

“Closing flagships is a critical part of our ongoing work to reposition our store network to more intimate omni-enabled stores to better serve our local customer and represent our updated brand positioning.”

“Omni-enabled” retail refers to an integration of digital services and e-commerce, or online shopping, in other words.

Yes, thankfully, the brand’s signature T-shirts and polo shirts will still be available online, as will the rest of their offerings.

All you have to do is download the Abercrombie & Fitch app, and start shopping away your blues.

Featured Image: Facebook (Bangkok Trends); Instagram (abercrombie_singapore)