Exhibit 99.1
ABERCROMBIE & FITCH REPORTS
SECOND QUARTER SALES RESULTS
New Albany, Ohio, August 4, 2011: Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) today reported net sales of
$916.8 million for the fiscal quarter ended July 30, 2011, a 23% increase from net sales of $745.8
million for the fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2010. U.S. sales, including direct-to-consumer
sales, increased 12% to $684.9 million. International sales, including direct-to-consumer sales,
increased 74% to $231.9 million. Total Company direct-to-consumer sales, including shipping and
handling, increased 28% to $102.1 million.
Total comparable store sales for the quarter increased 9%. By brand, comparable store sales
increased 5% for Abercrombie & Fitch, 7% for abercrombie kids, and 12% for Hollister Co.
Year-to-date, the Company reported net sales of $1.753 billion, a 22% increase from net sales of
$1.434 billion last year. U.S. sales, including direct-to-consumer sales, increased 12% to $1.326
billion. International sales, including direct-to-consumer sales, increased 70% to $427.6 million.
Total Company direct-to-consumer sales, including shipping and handling, increased 30% to $207.9
million.
Total comparable store sales for the year-to-date period increased 9%. By brand, comparable store
sales increased 6% for Abercrombie & Fitch, 9% for abercrombie kids, and 12% for Hollister Co.
Sales for the quarter benefitted from a strong performance in stores open less than a year,
including the new Abercrombie & Fitch flagship store in Paris. Within the quarter, July was the
strongest month.
The Company will release its second quarter results on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 prior to the
opening of the market and hold a conference call at 8:30am Eastern Time. To listen to the
conference call, dial (888) 218-8170 and ask for the Abercrombie & Fitch Quarterly Call or go to
www.abercrombie.com. The international call-in number is (913) 312-0839. This call will be
recorded and made available by dialing the replay number (888) 203-1112 or the international number
(719) 457-0820 followed by the conference ID number 8454067 or through wwww.abercrombie.com.
At the end of the second quarter, the Company operated a total of 1,073 stores. The Company
operated 316 Abercrombie & Fitch stores, 179 abercrombie kids stores, 501 Hollister Co. stores and
18 Gilly Hicks stores in the United States. The Company operated 10 Abercrombie & Fitch stores,
four abercrombie kids stores, 44 Hollister Co. stores and one Gilly Hicks store internationally.
The Company operates e-commerce websites at www.abercrombie.com, www.abercrombiekids.com,
www.hollisterco.com and www.gillyhicks.com.
For further information, call:
Eric Cerny
Senior Manager, Investor Relations
(614) 283-6385
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995
A&F cautions that any forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995) contained in this Press Release or made by management or
spokespeople of A&F involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various
important factors, many of which may be beyond the Company’s control. Words such as “estimate,”
“project,” “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” and similar expressions may
identify forward-looking statements. Except as may be required by applicable law, we assume no
obligation to publicly update or revise our forward-looking statements. The following factors, in
addition to those included in the disclosure under the heading “ FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND
RISK FACTORS” in “ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS” of A&F’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended January 29, 2011, in some cases have affected and in the future could affect the Company’s
financial performance and could cause actual results for the 2011 fiscal year and beyond to differ
materially from those expressed or implied in any of the forward-looking statements included in
this Press Release or otherwise made by management: changes in economic and financial conditions,
and the resulting impact on consumer confidence and consumer spending, could have a material
adverse effect on our business, results of operations and liquidity; if we are unable to
anticipate, identify and respond to changing fashion trends and consumer preferences in a timely
manner, and manage our inventory commensurate with customer demand, our sales levels and
profitability may decline; fluctuations in the cost, availability and quality of raw materials,
labor and transportation, could cause manufacturing delays and increase our costs; equity-based
compensation awarded
under the employment agreement with our Chief Executive Officer could adversely impact our cash
flows, financial position or results of operations and could have a dilutive effect on our
outstanding Common Stock; our growth strategy relies significantly on international expansion,
which adds complexity to our operations and may strain our resources and adversely impact current
store performance; our international expansion plan is dependent on a number of factors, any of
which could delay or prevent successful penetration into new markets or could adversely affect the
profitability of our international operations; our direct-to-consumer sales are subject to numerous
risks that could adversely impact sales; we have incurred, and may continue to incur, significant
costs related to store closures; the costs associate with our development of a new brand concept
such as Gilly Hicks could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of
operations; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could adversely impact our financial
condition and results of operations; our business could suffer if our information technology
systems are disrupted or cease to operate effectively; comparable store sales will continue to
fluctuate on a regular basis and impact the volatility of the price of our Common Stock; our market
share may be negatively impacted by increasing competition and pricing pressures from companies
with brands or merchandise competitive with ours; our ability to attract customers to our stores
depends, in part, on the success of the shopping malls in which most of our stores are located; our
net sales fluctuate on a seasonal basis, causing our results of operations to be susceptible to
changes in Back-to-School and Holiday shopping patterns; our inability to accurately plan for
product demand and allocate merchandise effectively could have a material adverse effect on our
results; our failure to protect our reputation could have a material adverse effect on our brands;
we rely on the experience and skills of our senior executive officers, the loss of whom could have
a material adverse effect on our business; interruption in the flow of merchandise from our key
vendors and international manufacturers could disrupt our supply chain, which could result in lost
sales and could increase our costs; we do not own or operate any manufacturing facilities and,
therefore, depend upon independent third parties for the manufacture of all our merchandise; our
reliance on two distribution centers domestically and one third-party distribution center
internationally makes us susceptible to disruptions or adverse conditions affecting our
distribution centers; our reliance on third parties to deliver merchandise from our distribution
centers to our stores and direct-to-consumer customers could result in disruptions to our business;
we may be exposed to risks and costs associated with credit card fraud and identity theft that
would cause us to incur unexpected expenses and loss of revenues; modifications and/or upgrades to
our information technology systems may disrupt our operations; our facilities, systems and stores
as well as the facilities and systems of our vendors and manufacturers, are vulnerable to natural
disasters and other unexpected events, any of which could result in an interruption in our business
and adversely affect our operating results; our litigation exposure could exceed expectations,
having a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations; our
inability or failure to adequately protect our trademarks could have a negative impact on our brand
image and limit our ability to penetrate new markets; fluctuations in our tax obligations and
effective tax rate may result in volatility in our operating results; the effects of war or acts of
terrorism could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition;
our inability to obtain commercial insurance at acceptable prices or our failure to adequately
reserve for self-insured exposures might increase our expenses and adversely impact our financial
results; reduced operating results and cash flows at the store level may cause us to incur
impairment charges; we are subject to customs, advertising, consumer protection, privacy, zoning
and occupancy and labor and employment laws that could require us to modify our current business
practices, incur increased costs or harm our reputation if we do not comply; changes in the
regulatory or compliance landscape could adversely affect our business and results of operations;
our unsecured credit agreement includes financial and other covenants that impose restrictions on
our financial and business operations; and our operations may be affected by regulatory changes
related to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.