If you were a teenager in the 2010s, you’ll remember one fashion brand being the thing to wear. Your crush wore their trackies, the girls at your school wanted long blonde hair like their models, and if you were lucky, you might have got one of their boldly logoed t-shirts or hoodies for Christmas. We’re talking, of course, about Abercrombie & Fitch.
Despite controversies around racial discrimination and sexual abuse surrounding the brand coming to light in 2022, Abercrombie & Fitch has managed to do a massive 180 over the past couple of years. The company has distanced itself from former chief executive Mike Jeffries, who was charged with international sex trafficking in 2024.
In 2025, the retailer famous for its topless male models and preppy American vibe is expanding. A&F plans to between eight and 10 new stores in the UK this year, including one on London’s Kensington High Street. The company told Drapers that it is looking at high street and shopping centre locations, with the goal of doubling its number of UK brick-and-mortar stores.
Abercrombie has already opened two shops in London in 2025, with new locations on Oxford Street and Long Acre in Covent Garden.
The chain currently has stores on London’s Carnaby Street, and in Edinburgh, Battersea Power Station, Westfield London, and Manchester's Trafford Centre.
Scott Clarke-Bryan, Abercrombie & Fitch EMEA managing director, told Drapers: ‘We will accelerate our store expansion this year. We want to be in the very best locations [and] we are really excited that we'll be coming to Kensington High Street’
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