Abercrombie & Fitch sales ‘exceed expectations’

Net sales were previously expected to increase between 12% to 14% on fiscal year 2022's revenue of $3.7bn (£2.95bn).

The sales growth was driven by a 21% increase in sales in the Asia-Pacific region and an 18% rise in the Americas. EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) sales edging up by 4% year on year to $687m (£537m).

The group's total operating income rose 426% year on year to $485m (£380m).

Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Fran Horowitz attributed the strong performance to a 21% year-on-year growth in fourth-quarter net sales, which surpassed $1.4bn (£1bn) in the 14 weeks to 3 February 2024 and "exceeded [Abercrombie & Fitch's] January business update expectations".

"We entered fiscal 2024 in a position of strength with momentum across our brand portfolio. The success of our playbook gives us confidence that we can now shift more of our focus to expanding our global customer base," she said.

The group has 137 stores in the EMEA region, of which 108 are Hollister and 29 are Abercrombie & Fitch.

In December, Abercrombie & Fitch opened the doors to a 3,000 sq ft store on London's Carnaby Street.