Belgium
19:33 15/12/2020
The Abercrombie & Fitch flagship store on Boulevard de Waterloo in Brussels is shutting its doors for good on 9 January. The youthful fashion label had been struggling with a loss in customer base for some time, and the coronavirus crisis was the final nail in the coffin.
Abercrombie opened its first shop in Belgium in the famed Wittouck mansion in late 2011. The trendy American label had already made headlines by using a modelling agency to fill its 400 staff positions; all members of staff had to be young, attractive, slender and fit.
The more muscular male members of staff were shirtless on the first day, while others wore shorts as they greeted the crowds gathered outside – despite it being freezing cold. Belgian youth formed long lines outside the outlet on opening day.