Dive Brief:

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co struck an apologetic note on Wednesday, announcing that it would offer larger sizes in spring of 2014, marking a change of tone from comments made by Chief Executive Mike Jeffries, who has said that he doesn't think A&F clothes should be for "fat" people.
• The company will offer sizes above large in new colors, as well as shoes in a move to compete with other brands that have been winning over teen customers.
• A&F shares have been down about 30% this year, likely prompting the decision.

Dive Insight:

Insulting potential customers is rarely a wise strategy, but in this case A&F may need to throw some extra effort into its PR messaging if it cares about repairing damage that may have been done by Jeffries' past comments. Brand can be a difficult thing to manage when you want to want to be seen as a popular kid but skid into being perceived as a bully by your shoppers.