ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO. PROVIDES ADDITIONAL COVID-19-RELATED BUSINESS UPDATE

NEW ALBANY, Ohio, April 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) today announced further updates in response to the continued spread of COVID-19.

The company’s online stores remain open globally, and the majority of stores in the APAC region are open.

In North America and the EMEA region, stores remain closed. The current environment has resulted in significantly reduced demand, requiring fewer resources to support the business. As a result, the company is furloughing its North America and EMEA region store associates beginning April 12, during which time they will continue to receive enrolled benefits. The company will fund 100% of the health premiums for eligible associates impacted by these measures.

Additionally, the company will be implementing a temporary reduction in work schedule and corresponding reduction in pay for approximately 15% of its corporate associates globally, who are not able to operate at full capacity in this current business climate. The company will make every effort to bring its stores associates back to work, and its corporate associates back to a full schedule, as soon as possible.

The company is also initiating a range of other measures to increase financial flexibility and maintain agility during this challenging period. These measures include temporary reductions in its leadership team’s salaries ranging from 10% to 33% from the Vice President level upwards, including all named executive officers and the Chief Executive Officer. The company's Board of Directors' cash retainer will also temporarily be reduced by 50%, and the company has cancelled all spring merit raises and promotions.

Fran Horowitz, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We entered this unprecedented period with healthy liquidity. Given the evolving environment, we are undertaking a range of additional expense management actions to further strengthen our financial position. These are never easy decisions to make, but we believe they are necessary as we manage through this period of uncertainty. We are committed to preserving our team’s ability to respond quickly to the rapidly evolving conditions, while serving the needs of all of our stakeholders, and positioning us to return to growth after the COVID-19 pandemic.”