What company acquired Abercrombie & Fitch in 1988?

The Limited acquired Abercrombie & Fitch in 1988.

At the time, Abercrombie & Fitch was a struggling remnant of its former identity as a prestigious outdoor and sporting-goods outfitter. Oshman’s Sporting Goods had acquired the defunct company’s name and mailing list in 1978, but the brand still needed a new direction.

Les Wexner’s retail company, The Limited, bought Abercrombie & Fitch’s brand and operations in 1988. Contemporary accounts and later histories commonly describe the deal as involving 25 stores and a price of about $46 million. The acquisition placed A&F within a growing retail portfolio that also included concepts such as Express and Victoria’s Secret.

The Limited’s ownership helped reposition Abercrombie & Fitch toward younger consumers. Mike Jeffries became chief executive in 1992, and the company was spun off as a publicly traded business in 1996. That sequence is why Nike, VF Corporation and Gap are not correct alternatives: none acquired A&F in 1988.