

The man behind Abercrombie & Fitch - rms
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2006/01/24/jeffries/

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pg
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.

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ivankirigin
plastic. surgery.

~~~
soundsop
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.

~~~
ivankirigin
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.

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

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

~~~
aston
Growth potential, dude!

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wallflower
"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).

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a-priori
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".

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rms
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?

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kingkongrevenge
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.

~~~
asdflkj
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?

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

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

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gruseom
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.

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

~~~
kingkongrevenge
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?!

