A&F Quarterly: It’s Baaack
Look out: Abercrombie & Fitch is bringing back its racy magalog, A&F Quarterly, back to the U.S. The casual apparel merchant will start selling the 176-page magazine/catalog hybrid next month for $10.
Don’t send the kids down to the mall to pick one up, though—you have to be 18 or older to buy A&F Quarterly. Why’s that?
If the new A&F Quarterly is like its predecessor, expect lots of nudie—sorry, artistic—photos (of gorgeous young people without any clothes on) and other content parents don’t like. For instance, previous editions dispensed editorial such as sex tips and best practices for drinking games.
The theme of the relaunched magalog’s first edition is a Hollywood screen test, which was shot by the famed Bruce Weber. I suspect a casting couch will be involved…
The earlier A&F Quarterly, launched in 1997, frequently landed Abercrombie hot water with both parents and politicians who thought the book was basically soft porn. The retailer ceased production of the magalog in the U.S. in 2003, but it brought the Quarterly to Europe in 2008. (Europeans are much more liberal about nudity and alcohol.)
The Michigan state’s attorney general’s office in 1999 even ordered Abercrombie to stop selling its Christmas catalog to minors because of its sexually explicit content.
Abercrombie also got in trouble two years ago when some consumers objected to the photos of scantily clad men and women used in one of its store displays.
Why is the retailer giving print another shot, especially when everyone else is investing in digital? Some speculate that Abercrombie misses all the controversy and publicity that the A&F Quarterly consistently generated. I could see that—certainly Multichannel Merchant and Direct got a lot of mileage out of the uproars over the magalog.
The new A&F Quarterly will be available in Abercrombie stores or on its Website as of July 17. Let me know what it’s like if you get one. While I am thrilled any time a company invests in print, I won’t be shelling out $10 for a magalog.
