LONDON — It was a tale of two retailers Thursday morning as Abercrombie & Fitch opened its first European flagship on Savile Row, just as M by Madonna made its London debut in nearby Oxford Circus.
Crowds waiting to get a glimpse of A&F’s store snaked around the block and braved intermittent rain and snow.
“Oh my God, I can smell the scent on him! The Abercrombie scent!” said one excited teenage girl as a male shop assistant walked past her before the store opened. “You always know when you’re in an Abercrombie store.”
Later, the teen emerged from the store with 300 pounds, or $588, worth of merchandise.
Although the weather outside was miserable, the in-store climate was warm and breezy. Shoppers posed for pictures with muscular, shirtless male staffers, and scurried around the 13,000-square-foot selling space with armfuls of merchandise.
“I’m buying some shirts, jeans and bottles of the fragrance from my friend,” said one male shopper.
Staff members paraded around in flip-flops, T-shirts and jeans, and some female sales assistants were wearing HotPants and tube tops. Techno music blasted through the store, and the opening had a fraternity party feel.
Price points in London are almost double those at Abercrombie stores in the U.S. A pair of jeans in London costs 80 pounds, or around $157, and an A&F logo T-shirt costs 35 pounds, or $70.
Prices didn’t seem to phase crowds, though.
“Most of my stuff is Abercrombie. I buy it online,” said Emma Johnstone, 17.
Customers said they regularly bought A&F when they traveled to the U.S. “I saw on a billboard that Abercrombie was opening, and had to come,” Johnstone said.
Part of the attraction of the brand, many customers said, was its all-American reputation — and matinee idol staff.
“I was approached about working here,” said a sales assistant and parttime model, Anthony Lowther, 26. Lowther lives with six other male models, all of whom now work at the store. “I’m excited about being an Abercrombie boy. Everyone’s beautiful.”