The actors and models who worked on an Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) Gulfstream G550 jet had crystal-clear rules for serving Chief Executive Officer Michael Jeffries.
Clean-shaven males had to wear a uniform of Abercrombie polo shirts, boxer briefs, flip-flops and a “spritz” of the retailer’s cologne, according to an “Aircraft Standards” manual, disclosed in an age-discrimination lawsuit brought by a former pilot. Among the 40-plus pages of detailed instructions: black gloves had to be used when handling silverware and white gloves to lay the table, the song “Take Me Home” had to be played when passengers entered the cabin on return flights and Jeffries’s dogs — identified in the document as Ruby, Trouble and Sammy — had different seating arrangements based on which ones were traveling.
The document has come to light at a time when Jeffries’s management style is being questioned. Abercrombie’s shares have erased half their value in the past year, and activist investor Ralph Whitworth is pressing for changes, according to a person familiar with the matter. While Jeffries’s penchant for details helped turn Abercrombie into a global brand, the 68-year-old CEO is struggling to reverse falling same-store sales as shoppers grow weary of the fashions and risqué marketing.
Amid takeover speculation, it’s hard to see Jeffries relinquishing control over the company he has spent 20 years building, said Rob Wilson, president and founder of Tiburon Research Group, an independent equity research firm based in San Francisco.
“There’s many strategic decisions over the last few years that make you scratch your head, and it kind of plays into what people think of as his ‘his way or the highway’ managerial philosophy,” said Wilson, who recommends selling the shares.