Abercrombie & Fitch has made a successful transition to an omnichannel retailer, largely out of necessity because of the pandemic and its effect on the retail industry for the past couple of years.
The company reported Wednesday (March 2) digital net sales of $556 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, which ended Jan. 29, compared to $475 million in the same three-month period in fiscal 2019. That number is 48% of total net sales, up from 40% two years ago.
For the full fiscal year, Abercrombie & Fitch’s digital net sales were $1.7 billion, good for 47% of total net sales, and up from $1.2 billion and 33% of total net sales in fiscal 2019.
Abercrombie & Fitch reported Q4 net sales of $1.2 billion, up 4% from fiscal 2020 and down 2% from fiscal 2019. For the full year, net sales of $3.7 billion were up 19% compared to last year and up 2% from 2019.
“2021 is a testament to the fundamental changes we have made to strengthen our foundation and improve our profitability,” said Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Fran Horowitz in a statement. “We are pleased with our recent performance. Following inventory receipt delays that impacted the peak holiday selling period, sales trends initially improved as product began to arrive. While mid-January was impacted by the omicron surge, sales rebounded in late January as cases fell and new assortments set.”
Horowitz said there would be more details of the company’s three-year plan at its Investor Day in June.
In January, Abercrombie & Fitch offered an unplanned preliminary Q4 sales report that noted the omicron variant of the coronavirus hampered the company’s operations for that three-month period, including the holiday shopping season.
Read more: 2 Retailers in 2 Days Say Omicron Dented Holiday Season Sales
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