Abercrombie & Fitch delivered record second-quarter sales, prompting the retailer to raise its full-year outlook.
Hollister drove the performance with a 19% sales increase, marking its strongest quarter to date. The Abercrombie brand, however, slipped 5% after cycling a 26% gain in the prior year.
For the quarter ending 2nd August, net sales rose 7% year on year to US $ 1.2 billion, with comparable sales up 3%. Operating income reached US $ 207 million, compared with US $ 176 million a year earlier.
By region, the Americas rose 8% and Apac climbed 12%, while EMEA slipped 1%.
CEO Fran Horowitz said the results underscored the company’s resilience, noting that the quarter delivered record net sales with 7% growth over last year, exceeding expectations. She also highlighted that profitability surpassed forecasts while the company returned US $ 50 million to shareholders. Horowitz added that Abercrombie is entering the second half “on offence,” supported by a raised sales outlook building on last year’s record results.
The company cautioned, however, that tariffs on imports from Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and India will add US $ 90 million in costs this year. In May, it had forecast US $ 50 million in tariff expenses after mitigating some of the impact.
Industry analysts echoed the positive momentum. Neil Saunders, MD at GlobalData, said the company’s consistent execution has been key, pointing to strong merchandising, an effective rate of refresh in the range, seasonality, and responsiveness to trends. He emphasised that this growth came on the back of a 16.1% uplift in the prior year.
Saunders also described Abercrombie Kids’ move into wholesale as a clever growth strategy. He noted that the US kids’ wear market was worth US $ 82.1 billion last year, with Abercrombie & Fitch holding only a small share. Expanding through wholesale, he said, provides faster access to new customers and requires far less capital than opening additional stores.
