Streaming platform Netflix dropped a new documentary—White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch, that charts the company’s success in the early ’90s and ‘00s to its subsequent downfall. It is no news that the ‘all-American’ retailer was embroiled in a number of scandals namely due to its unethical and downright discriminatory hiring policies that ultimately changed the trajectory of DEI in its talent management practices.
The rise of Abercrombie was the result of then CEO Mike Jeffries’ ability to connect his vision for the brand with popular teenage culture at the time. Everything from the store design to the marketing materials, to the staff, were intricately curated which helped catapult the brand into the stratosphere. As anyone who shopped in a mall in the late 90s and ’00s may remember, Abercrombie’s distinct aroma, shuttered storefront, and use of half-naked male employees were deployed to lure customers over the threshold.
Unethical talent management
The documentary explicitly explores how the store employees were crucial to the Abercrombie experience, though less because of the customer service capabilities but rather more about their looks. In the pre-influencer and pre-digital marketing age, Abercrombie deployed a unique strategy where its recruiters were required to only hire employees who fitted Abercrombie’s ‘All-American’ image and were considered to be ‘good-looking’.
Touching on store visits by Jeffries and executives, the documentary details how it was not about the individual stores’ sales performance, but rather which employees were facing customers. Store managers were handed a book that strictly outlined ‘what good-looking looks like’ with descriptions often being discriminatory and non-white features, clothing and hairstyles being deemed inappropriate.
This practice was deeply ingrained from the managerial level upwards with prospective talent being denied jobs because they wore black, an item of religious clothing or had an inappropriate hairstyle or jewellery. Managers also needed to rate each of their employees on a scale of ‘cool to rocks’ with the ‘rocks’ subsequently being removed from the schedule and rotated out of employment.
Unashamed & Unabashed
These downright racist, xenophobic and discriminatory hiring and talent management practices landed Abercrombie in hot water with several lawsuits pursued and settlements agreed. Abercrombie ultimately did not shy away from its discriminatory policies and unabashedly stated that it was recruiting based on the image and sales needs of the business – in the sense that hiring ugly, non-white people would hurt the bottom line.
What was perhaps most ludicrous was the fact that Abercrombie’s HR and Chief Diversity Officer wholeheartedly believed that discrimination was not just a blip rather it was their whole identity as they were trying to sell an exclusive discriminatory lifestyle. Though the company made strides to achieve a 40% increase in non-white employees in stores, it did not enact any meaningful change in its hiring practices. Instead, employees were split into two categories ‘models’ and ‘impact’ under the guise that by hiring models, the company would be able to manipulate labour legislations in their favour as per the rampant abuse in the fashion industry.
Ridding itself of the past
Following Jeffries’ subsequent resignation after the company’s sales nosedived, Abercrombie installed Fran Horowitz who has since made it her mission to right the wrongs of the past. Abercrombie’s new ethos ‘a place of belonging rather than fitting in’ has seen the company focus on listening to customers and expanding the brand to include a wide range of diverse and body-positive models. One glance at the website or social media pages makes clear that DEI is at the very core of Abercrombie’s mission to rid itself of its problematic past. The company has also recalibrated how it hires its sales staff with experience and skillsets now being the most effective metrics for new-hires.
Whilst the Abercrombie story of discriminatory talent management practices is just one of many that beleaguered businesses in the 90s and 00s, its overarching message provides some surprising key takeaways for talent management and acquisition professionals namely how not to conduct hiring or talent management in the twenty-first century. The documentary is a rare juxtaposition of popular culture and HR’s role in unethical and non-inclusive talent management practices.
As the narrative in wider society has since shifted to take on a more inclusive tone and as businesses begin to understand the importance of DEI as part of an effective talent management strategy, the most important thing that HR take away from these lessons is to be an advocate. When a process goes against laws and is contrary to industry best practices it is important that HR raise their voice and push back instead of blindly following orders for the benefit of the business. At the end of the day, HR is a people profession and if we are not putting our people first but instead judging them based on appearance or their ability to convey the brand image, then perhaps we are in the wrong profession.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
