Glitter will be everywhere at Abercrombie & Fitch Co stores this holiday season. That's why Stacy Pak is worried women won't be.
The Prudential Securities Inc analyst cut Abercrombie & Fitch shares to "hold" from "buy."
The reason: she's seen the women's holiday line and is concerned it won't sell.
"We think a particular problem is the amount of glitter -- which is everywhere," the analyst wrote in a two-page note sent to clients on Friday.
The ratings cut comes as retailers are facing their toughest holiday season in years, with unemployment rising and consumer confidence at a 7 1/2-year low. Abercrombie & Fitch said yesterday sales for stores open more than a year fell 20 percent in the month ended Nov. 3 compared with a year earlier.
Known for a quarterly catalogue that has featured bare-chested, and sometimes bare-bottomed, young men and women, Abercrombie & Fitch's offerings for this holiday season include a t-shirt that says "Flirt" in letters made of glitter.
The shirt, and other items like it, are ``markedly different'' from clothes offered during the prior season and is aimed at much younger audience, Pak said.
Investors rely on retail analysts for their fashion sense as much as for their number-crunching skills. Pak stays on top of fashion trends by visiting malls, speaking to sales staff and interviewing shoppers.
Abercrombie & Fitch shares have fallen 6 percent this year, though they have traded as low as US$16.60 and as high as US$45.98. Shares of the retailer rose US$0.50 to US$18.87 on Friday.
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