A&F picks 4 women to fill slots on board

Abercrombie & Fitch has been best known through the years for its bare-chested male models and too-cool-for-you attitude.

Now, the company is gaining attention because of its trendsetting corporate governance. That might sound dull in comparison to the retailer’s sexy image, but this is no joke.

In a recent filing, the company said that it would nominate four new independent members of its board of directors and had reached a settlement with activist investor Engaged Capital, which had nominated five candidates of its own to address what it viewed as too

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many “insiders” on the company’s board.

The big jolt came via the fact that Abercrombie’s four new independent director candidates are all women, a point that impressed Eleanor Bloxham, a corporate-governance expert based in Westerville.

“This is new territory for Columbus,” Bloxham said. “This could be very powerful.”

Adding the four women would mean that 30 percent of the Abercrombie board would be women — twice the national average for corporations, she noted.

A quick look at the boards of other corporations based in central Ohio reinforces the point that Abercrombie will be breaking new ground when the four women join the board.

The boards at DSW, Bob Evans and Scotts have three women. L Brands and Express have two. Big Lots has one.

Perhaps just as impressive is how truly independent the four new independent director candidates are, Bloxham said.

Bonnie R. Brooks is vice chairwoman of retailer Hudson’s Bay Co.; Sarah M. Gallagher is president of Ralph Lauren North America e-commerce; Diane L. Neal is a past CEO of Bath & Body Works; and Stephanie M. Shern is vice chairwoman and global director of retail and consumer products for the professionalservices firm Ernst & Young.

Ultimately, of course, whether the addition of four independent women to the Abercrombie board makes a big difference in the retailer’s fortunes remains to be seen.

On a different front, Abercrombie is revving up its image machine in an attempt to regain business for its struggling southern California brand Hollister Co.

To reinforce its image of “laidback So Cal attitude,” the chain is opening a beach house — Hollister House — in Santa Monica, Calif., for the summer that will feature “epic concerts, awesome styles and guest celebs,” according to a statement by Craig Brommers, senior vice president of marketing.

It’s an unusual step for Hollister, and for Abercrombie, which in the past has done little advertising and relied on word of mouth among its key customers to spread the word about its merchandise.

But Hollister has struggled lately. Comparable store sales — a key indicator of a retailer’s health — fell 10 percent during the fourth quarter and 14 percent for 2013.

Rethinking Sears

The news last week that Sears Holdings Corp. is exploring options for its 51 percent interest in Sears Canada — including a sale — didn’t come as a surprise to most retail business observers.

The long-struggling retailer has been looking for sources of cash recently, with such maneuvers as spinning off its Lands’ End business, said Evan Mann, senior high yield analyst at Gimme Credit, an independent research service on corporate bonds, in a note to investors.

“But efforts to ‘unlock value’ of assets is coming at the expense of longer-term growth potential as faster-growing, smaller formats are being sacrificed,” Mann said. “Although near-term sources of liquidity remain adequate, we remain skeptical regarding the company’s longer-term credit prospects.”

But reports of Sears’ demise might be premature, said retail analyst Chris Boring, principal at Boulevard Strategies.

“I don’t think they have a great future as a department store retailer in the United States,” Boring said. “They’re part of the whole dying mall culture in the United States that’s being impacted by ecommerce.”

And it is in e-commerce that Sears might find its salvation, he said.

“Sears has been a leader in ship-from-store, and a lot of other retailers are copying them,” Boring said. “The way they’re looking at the stores is as mini-fulfillment centers — they’ve got real estate and labor already in place. They’re also trying to act as a platform on the Internet for smaller retailers.

“I see that as a successful strategy for Sears. I don’t think they’re done. They have to look in other directions.”

Long time coming

Arts and crafts retailer Michaels finally has caught up with the 21st century and launched its online store.

Customers “have been asking us for years when we’re going to offer online shopping,” said Michaels CEO Chuck Rubin.

Shoppers can use the site, at www.michaels.com, via their computer, tablet or smartphone.

To their credit, the folks at Michaels offer a variety of features on the new website, including a “one-click shopping list” that allows shoppers to choose a project, and the site automatically fills their virtual cart with everything they need. The site also features “Favorite Pins,” projects and products from Michaels.com that are trending on Pinterest.