Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) Essay Example for Free

Abercrombie Fitch (AF) Essay Products (Revised): Abercrombie Fitch Co. is a leading specialty clothing retailer. It always utilizes sex appeal to sell its products. AF often uses semi-nude models with rock hard abs on their new store opening ceremony and puts posters on the wall of store with hot semi-nude Caucasian. AF prefers to decorate their store with dark jungle feel. All of those strategies aim the same target, the sex attraction. A feature which can make a huge distinction from other brands is that AF doesn’t stock XL or XXL sizes for women clothing. It claimed that they want â€Å"cool kids†. The reason why they took this strategy is because the company wants to inspire consumers to strive for the Abercrombie Fitch â€Å"lifestyle.† Abercrombie Fitch sells a â€Å"lifestyle† of popularity that people aspire to have (Reichert, 2003). Their advertisements imply that AF is a fastidious and attractive brand and if you can have their clothing and then you can be the one of them. This characteristic makes the market polarized heavily. In the one hand, this declaration attracts some customers of its target groups indeed. Because people always want to be considered as â€Å"chic† and â€Å"fashionable†. So if there is a way can make them feel being cool, they will go for it. And they also want to beat others in anyways. AF gives the opportunities for those people exactly. The â€Å"not cool† people even can’t fit in the clothing of AF. Also as Jeffries said, those â€Å"cool kids† have their â€Å"cool† friends, and then AF can become a new fashion. On the other hand, this overt and cruel design results a consequence of losing profits of excluding customers. They can’t fit in those small sizes so they wont buy them certainly. The worse thing is that they may hate this brand. Now there are many video on YouTube of blaming AF’s strategy. The target markets of AF’s products are divided in detail. It aims the younger generation in the US generally. The target market falls between those ages because 14 years old is usually when a teenager begins dressing themselves and shopping for themselves, so naturally they want to dress  something cool and attractive. They target the groups in two ways. One of them is by the styles of products. Younger people like to wear in casual sports style like hoodies or joggers more than mature adults. They prefer chic style than OL. However it also leads the loss of other people who are excluded in these groups. Because most of the products are designed for youthful people, mature adults may think it’s too young to wear which is not good for expanding market. Unfortunately, mature people have stronger power in purchasing. So AF lose potential customers in unawareness. The second way is their store style. The decorations with semi-nude posters are offensive to older generatio ns and they even don’t want to walk in the stores. In conclusion, AF puts their products in an extreme position. AF only serves for the spectacular people who are targeted by clothing favor and size. The detailed target makes it easier to get the favor of specific customers. Price: The price of Abercrombie Fitch clothing from  £10 to  £150.Most of the tops are around  £30- £60 and the bottoms are  £50- £90. The coats and jackets are more expensive (more than  £90). Although it claims that they are providing quality and long lasting clothing, the price is a little bit higher considering their target consumers. Because the young adults usually can’t be independence of finance. However the young people often buy things on their instincts rather than rationality. So the high price may not be an obstacle of purchasing as long as they firmly believe the messages that AF is trying to imply (having AF clothing and being attractive and beautiful). Moreover the price represents not only their products but also their brand. AF puts itself at a high level of fashion. It makes the consumers strive for it instead of earning them. The high price can be a label of high level and it exactly caters to its attractive style which AF is always trying to sell. In addition, AF barely puts their clothing on sale. It’s largely because of their willingness to change everything in order to hang on to a non-price position and a revenue-driven profit formula. (WHY ABERCROMBIE FITCH (ALMOST) NEVER PUTS  ANYTHING ON SALE, BY MICHAEL E. RAYNOR AND MUMTAZ AHMED) After the economic depression more and more people focus on the price. Unfortunately competitors such as HM have relied heavily on discounts to gain market share while AF has struggled with its premium brand position and pricing. The slow adaptation of price promotions has positioned the company behind its competitors. (Strategic Analysis for: Abercrombie Fitch Co.) People turn to other brands because they can’t accept the high price of AF. For Abercrombie Fitch, how to balance the price and the high level position is one of their problem. Place Abercrombie Fitch has stores in 17 countries in the world including 323 stores. However there are 301 stores in the US and most of other countries only have one or two stores in their capital or booming city. In the USA, AF build their store along the coast more than in the middle because of the economics. Choosing the main cities to build stores can provide more customers because they pay more attention on dressing than small cities. People who live in big city can also have more purchasing power. They live in a higher level and care more about the brand. It’s exactly befit the propose of AF. In addition it’s a good way to show the brand’s attitude by building stores in big cities. It implies AF is at high level as the big city to the country. AF came from the US so it’s common to have a lot of stores in the US. In the mean time it also opens new market in Europe and Asia slowly. Because of the culture differences, every country has its own style of dressing so every single store in overseas has to be careful or it may get a financial loss. With the development of network, AF established the online shopping system. As other brands, AF can deliver the items to mostly address. It also has complete return/exchange policies. This channel expands the scale of customers. The limits of regions are most gone which depends on the shipping  situation of specific areas. People can sit in their room and buy commodities by internet. This way is more convenient than the traditional way and more suitable for the modern young people.

Mike Roses Lives on the Boundary Essay -- Mike Rose Lives Boundary Es

Mike Rose's Lives on the Boundary Mike Rose’s Lives on the Boundary is an Educational Autobiography. The book begins at the beginning of his life and we follow him up into his adult years. The book focuses on the â€Å"struggles and achievements of America’s educationally underprepared† . The Alien   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to understand Mike Rose, and his book Lives on the Boundary, you must first understand where Mike is coming from and examine his past. Mike was born to a first generation immigrant family, originally from Italy. He spent his early childhood in the mid-west and then in his latter childhood, parents not knowing any better, in East Los Angeles. Mike’s father suffered from arteriosclerosis. Neither Mike’s mother nor his father had completed high school and no one in his family had ever attended college. This is the setting, background, and characters of Mike’s tale of â€Å"struggles and achievements of America’s educationally underprepared† . Through this book Mike constantly is emphasizing three main themes. First, the importance of an educational mentor; later in this treatise we will examine several of Mike’s mentors. Second, social injustices in the American education system; specifically the lack of funding and bureaucracy’s affect on the public educational system. Third and lastly, specific teaching methods that Mike has used to reach out to kids on the boundary.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout Mike’s life, he had the fortunate experience of having some inspirational mentors. I have identified four of his numerous mentors as the most critical to his development, both educationally and personally. Achieving Abnormality The first of Mike’s mentors I would like to discuss came into his life just after his father passed away, beginning of his senior year. His name was Jack MacFarland. Jack, as described by Mike Rose is, †¦a beatnik who was born too late. His teeth were stained, he tucked his sorry tie between the third and forth buttons of his shirt, and his pants were chronically wrinkled. With a cultural background like Mike’s, survival in the American educational system is a difficult struggle at best. However, Jack helped fill in some of the critical cultural blanks. â€Å"He slowly and carefully built up our knowledge of Western intellectual history – with facts, with connections, with speculations† . And Jack served as more than simply a source of numb... ...t seems that every-other president and every-other governor refers to himself or herself as the education president or education governor, yet they fail to deliver the necessary funding to maintain a high level of education for all of his or her constituents’ children. Why is it that class and culture is the determining factor for who receives a quality education, this social injustice must be remedied. My Awakening Much like Mike, I have had some amazing academic mentors that were not afraid to get down in the trenches with me and ask what I was trying to say. I had Ms. Lewis my freshmen year of high school, she would sit down with me and rip apart my paper and rework it as necessary. During my senior year of high school, I had the privilege of taking a U.W. English class that was a seminar format where the instructor would frequently conference with us, and he gave me the tools to continue my education. However, something we all need to remember, especially at PLU, is to not be afraid to be a mentor to someone else. In life, we are all teachers. We tell one another our stories, and by doing that we are teaching them what it is like to look at the world through our lens.

Atkins and South Beach Diets According to Dr. Michael Greger

Everybody (or almost everyone that is) believed in the fad technically referred to as â€Å"Atkins Diet† and â€Å"South Beach Diet† (Atkins Nutritionals Inc n. p. ). People say that it works because it can successfully modify an individual’s eating habits (Atkins Nutritionals Inc. n. p. ). It has the capability of limiting the ingestion of any carbohydrate-rich food to be able to change the metabolism of the body from smoldering â€Å"glucose to burning fat whether it is stored or not† (Atkins Nutritionals Inc n. p. ).In addition to that, it is said that â€Å"Atkins Diet† persuades one to exercise; thus, it may be claimed to be a part of a healthy lifestyle – – it can sustain extreme work out â€Å"because protein-, vitamin- and mineral-enriched food are highly suggested† (Atkins Nutritionals Inc n. p. ). Even then, however, some researchers conclude that the â€Å"Atkins diet† will not work because â€Å"one cannot en gage in Atkins for long because carbohydrate (which is lacking in this diet) is needed for the purposes of energy for the body† (Atkins Nutritionals Inc n. p. ).This has been made clear by Dr. Michael Greger later when he said the following: â€Å"Atkins Diets† is said to be the â€Å"most dangerous† kind of diet that has been introduced to people in the past fifty years (Atkins Nightmare Diet n. p. ). Dr. Michael Greger says that the application of the aforementioned diet will threaten the body of the individual (Atkins Nightmare Diet n. p. ). Furthermore, he says that it may be effective and can decrease an individual’s weight; however, one may get sick or even die as an ultimate effect (Atkins Nightmare Diet n.p. ).Moreover, Dr. Michael Greger claims that anybody who steps forward and advocate that â€Å"unrestricted amounts of meat, butter, and eggs is dangerous† is actually blameworthy of unprofessional conduct (Atkins Nightmare Diet n. p. ). I nterestingly, such claim is backed up by evidence as there has been â€Å"a careful scientific appraisal was carried out by several council and staff members, aided by outside consultants†, which actually made clear that the â€Å"Atkins Diet† causes severe danger to an individual’s physical condition (Atkins Nightmare Diet n.p. ).What’s very good about this is that medical experts maintain their claim on the detrimental and perilous effects of the â€Å"Atkins Diet† (Atkins Nightmare Diet n. p. ). Moreover, the â€Å"American Dietetic Association† states that â€Å"the Atkins Diet is a nightmare of a diet† because it encourages eating much of â€Å"bacon, cream, and butter while turning away from apples† (Atkins Nightmare Diet n. p. ).This has been advocated by the aforementioned organization for approximately thirty years now (Atkins Nightmare Diet n. p. ). The â€Å"American Medical Association†, â€Å"American Cance r Society†, â€Å"American Heart Association†, â€Å"Cleveland Clinic†, â€Å"Johns Hopkinsâ€Å", â€Å"American Kidney Fund†, â€Å"American College of Sport’s Medicine† as well as, â€Å"the National Institutes of Health† unite and uphold the official statement of the â€Å"American Dietetic Association† (Atkins Nightmare Diet n. p. ).In addition to the aforementioned, there are no organizations that backs up the claim that â€Å"Atkins Diet† works; in fact all peer-reviewed journals and other references like the â€Å"Journal of the American College of Nutrition† states that â€Å"the Atkins Diet runs counter to all the current evidence-based dietary recommendations† (Atkins Nightmare Diet n. p. ). Finally, the same is true with the â€Å"South Beach Diet† which causes â€Å"constipation, gastrointestinal problems† and â€Å"can stress the kidneys and increase the risk of liver disorders , gout, coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and several types of cancer† (Squires n. p. ).

The Nature Vs. Nurture Debate Essay - 950 Words

1) Use the example of feral children to construct an argument in the nature versus nurture debate. Humans require nurturing and human interaction in order to live a normal life. Once an infant is born, a parent cares and watches for the child. The parents teach the child how to communicate, walk, and know what’s right and wrong. Humans require their humanness through social interaction. Without socializing, a human can be brought up differently. Even though children are biologically human, they don’t have the instincts or natural drive that makes them human. Social interaction is needed such as personality, love, freedom, justice, right and wrong, and reality. Humans are the social creations of society. For example, feral children. There are hundreds of documentations on cases of feral children all throughout history. These feral children had been raised without human interaction or by other animals they have come in contact with. There was a case in 1974 about a young boy whose story was similar to Tarzan. In central Africa, he was discovered at only six years old with a group of gray monkeys. For many years, he still remained a monkey by eating only fruits and vegetables and jumping up and down in excitement. Also another case with a young girl named Anna. Throughout her life she lived in seclusion and loneliness. Her grandfather refused to acknowledged her existence while her mother ignored her and kept her in an attic. Once she was discovered by a social worker theyShow MoreRelatedNature Vs. Nurture Debate1427 Words   |  6 Pagesparents use authoritarian methods and punishment.† The nature Vs nurture debate has been around since 1690 created by the philosopher John Locke who believed we as humans do not have natural, inborn ideas; that our minds are a blank page, upon which experience shall write. Nurture is everything and nature is simply nothing. â€Å"Nature is what we think of as pre-wiring and is influenced by genetic inheri tance and other biological factors. Nurture is generally taken as the influence of external factorsRead MoreNature Vs. Nurture Debate878 Words   |  4 Pagespersonalities and traits produced by genetics or shaped by the environment? Or, is there a relationship between nature and nurture with regards to child development? The debate continues. While some believe â€Å"nature and nurture work together, others believe they are separate and opposing influences† (McDevitt, 2010). Nature vs Nurture In regards to the nature vs. nurture debate, â€Å"this debate is a major issue in many social science disciplines and is concerned with the influence that biology, geneticsRead MoreNature Vs Nurture Debate1291 Words   |  6 PagesHow is the nature vs nurture debate related to a consideration of the mental disorder, schizophrenia? INTRODUCTION Schizophrenia is categorized by thoughts or experiences that seem abnormal with reality, disorganized speech or behaviour and decreased participation in regular daily activities. Difficulty with memory and concentration are sometimes also present. The two hit hypothesis generally refers to a genetic vulnerability, which is known as the first hit, triggered by something in the environmentRead MoreNature Vs Nurture Debate1343 Words   |  6 Pagescontroversial to psychologist since the phrase was created in 1869 is â€Å"Nature vs Nurture†. Although the debate was started well before then, 1869 was the first time it was tied to the debate. The nature vs nurture debate is over whether you get your behavior from genetics, what you inherited from your biological parents, or if they are learned characteristics, what you learn from the environment and what you get taught. The debate can be traced back to early western philosophy and is still relevantRead MoreNature Vs. Nurture Debat e1332 Words   |  6 PagesNature vs Nurture debate is one of the oldest arguments in the history of psychology. The debate is about to know if our personality and talents come from our parent or environment? The coding of genes in each cell in humans determine the different traits that we have, more physical attributes dominance like ear size, eye colour, , height, hair colour and other traits. However, it is still not known whether the more abstract attributes like, intelligence, sexual orientation, personality, preferencesRead MoreNature Vs. Nurture Debate1863 Words   |  8 PagesNature vs. Nurture Albert Camus once said, â€Å"Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.† But what makes man what he is? Is it his sheer genetic makeup, or is it the way he was raised? The nature vs. nurture debate has raged on for centuries, but neither side has been able to prove their point indefinitely. Even today we see displays of the contrast between genetics and learned behaviors, in athletics, in intelligence, in behavior, in medical history, and in work ethic. Each personRead MoreThe Debate On Nature Vs Nurture Essay1435 Words   |  6 Pagesdubious history of the debate on nature vs nurture continues to be a controversy, more and more psychologists start to rise from both sides of the argument. The earliest evidence can be traced back to the time of John Locke, who believes that our minds are blank slates and only experience can write override it. Despite the main focus of the issue being how environment transact to influence development, psychologists today cont inue to argue on the issue of nature vs nurture. Intelligence is more ofRead MoreNature Vs. Nurture Debate2114 Words   |  9 PagesNature vs. Nurture Albert Camus once said, â€Å"Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.† But what makes man what he is? Is it his sheer genetic makeup, or is it the way he was raised? The nature vs. nurture debate has raged on for centuries, but neither side has been able to prove their point indefinitely. Even today we see displays of the contrast between genetics and learned behaviors, some of which are athletics, intelligence, medical histories, etc. Every person is completelyRead MoreThe Nature Vs. Nurture Debate2673 Words   |  11 Pagesamount of social interaction is going to have a positive benefit, for young kids or any age. One of the most famous debates in Psychology is the Nature vs. Nurture debate, which has been going on since the time of Aristotle. The aspect within this debate comes to the question of; did the aspects of our behavior become because we inherited our characteristics from our parents know as the Nature? The other question leads up to our behavi or of; did we get our characteristics from what we learned from theRead MoreNature Vs. Nurture : The Debate Of Nature Versus Nurture895 Words   |  4 PagesNature vs. Nurture The debate of nature versus nurture has been an ongoing debate for a long time. When applying this argument to education there is no proven winner. The nature side of the coin believes that a person is born the way that they are. This could include intelligence level or personality traits such as being outgoing or shy. The other side of the argument of nurture believes that the type of upbringing that someone has will play a large role in the way they develop. It is thought