COLUMBUS, Ohio – New Albany-based clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch announced Tuesday that Michael Jeffries is retiring as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately.
While holding the reins at Abercrombie & Fitch for nearly 20 years, Jeffries has occasionally courted controversy, saying in an interview that he did not want overweight or unattractive people to wear clothes from the stores.
“We want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that,” he told Salon magazine in 2006.
Arthur Martinez, the non-executive board chairman, will become Executive Chairman and will oversee the company’s strategic direction and day-to-day operations until a new CEO is appointed, according to a release on the company’s website.
As the venerable clothing chain lost much of its luster in the past few years, underperforming in comparison to other clothing retailers on the stock market and in sales figures, Jeffries has been criticized for his compensation package and expenses and saw his authority diluted earlier this year when he was stripped of the chairmanship post he had held since 1996 and the position was handed over to Martinez.