WoodyAbercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch is an American ready-to-wear brand founded in New York in 1892 as a hunting and expedition outfitter. Its perfumery began in 2002 with Fierce, a men's eau de Cologne sold in its own stores and sprayed throughout its aisles. Since December 2014, its fragrances have been under a worldwide license held by Inter Parfums.
Abercrombie & Fitch perfumes
WoodyA New York outfitter
David T. Abercrombie opened a sporting goods and camping equipment store in Manhattan in 1892, aimed at wealthy hunters and travelers. The lawyer Ezra Fitch, one of his best customers, joined as a shareholder in 1900, and the company took its double name four years later.
The brand outfitted expeditions and safaris and counted Theodore Roosevelt among its customers. Its headquarters is now in New Albany, Ohio, and the company also operates Hollister, whose fragrances fall under the same licensing agreement.
Fierce, the scent of the stores
Fierce appeared in 2002, the brand's first men's fragrance, sold first in its own stores. The brand turned it into a signature scent for its spaces: the juice was sprayed throughout the aisles and on the clothing, to the point of becoming the recognizable smell of the stores throughout the decade.
Christophe Laudamiel, then a junior perfumer at IFF, recounts having inherited an account that none of his colleagues wanted and having developed the formula from it. Published credits diverge on his co-signatories: Bruno Jovanovic appears everywhere, while Carlos Bénaïm appears in the record of Laudamiel's work.
The Inter Parfums license
In December 2014, Inter Parfums signed an exclusive seven-year worldwide license to create, produce and distribute the fragrances of Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister, with launches announced for 2016. The agreement opened up perfumeries, department stores and duty-free retail to them.
The agreement was extended in November 2019 through December 31, 2022, with an automatic renewal clause unless terminated with three years' notice. Inter Parfums still counts both brands among its exclusive worldwide licenses.