ANF Case Analysis

ANF has attempted to do damage control in recent years. Following the departure of Mike Jeffries in 2013, ANF executives changed many policies within ANF stores. ANF stores no longer feature shirtless male models or racy imagery on the store 's shopping bags and posters. Floor models are now referred to as brand representatives. ANF stores now require managers to ask all ANF employee applicants why they feel diversity is important in the workplace. ANF no longer brands itself as a company that hires employees based off attractiveness and has taken initiatives to hire people from more diverse backgrounds. ANF stores now offer larger sizes for female apparel. However, a SWOT analysis shows other implications of the new campaign. Strengths of

However, the weaknesses outweigh the strengths. Although, what ANF is doing is a step in the right direction, it never formally apologized to consumers. Additionally, the clothes in larger sizes that ANF stores do offer are hard to find and run out quickly. Although ANF may have mentioned being more inclusive in hiring practices, it still has a long way to go. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled against ANF for not hiring a Muslim girl at one of its stores because she wore a hijab. Opportunities for this campaign include the chance of more campaigns that can branch off of this effort to be a more socially-responsible company. However the major threat to this campaign is that due to ANF 's extensive list of social offenses, the campaign may have caused the company to look like it was unauthentic and that its initiatives were only done to cover up all its past

However, the harm may not be completely irreversible. The first step to reversing ANF 's damage would be to focus on crisis management. Preemptive action and offensive responses would not be useful in this situation because the crisis management is being handled after the pass of the controversy. The best strategy to follow would be vocal commiseration through the means of showing regret, apologizing, and implementing effective corrective action. This means that ANF executives should publicly apologize, preferably in a large forum such as a press conference. Additionally, ANF executives should publicly take responsibility for previous actions through restitution and repentance. This also means that ANF should take initiative to show that it has completely abandoned themes of exclusion. ANF could do this by offering to fund a campaign that promotes positive body image or donating a fraction of sales to an organization that helps people with eating disorders. While it would be appropriate for ANF to promote a healthy lifestyle, health should emphasized over size. Even today, ANF stores stocks a large quantity of women 's clothing from size 00-2 jeans and a few jeans above that size, metaphorically suggesting that this should be a norm for all young women. However, this is not accurate. The average woman 's jean size is much larger, which is in no way reflected in ANF stores and therefore should be corrected by ANF in its