Michael Stanton Jeffries, commonly known as Mike Jeffries, is a famous American entrepreneur. To the public, Mike Jeffries is perhaps best known as a former CEO of a popular retailer called “Abercrombie & Fitch”. Over the years, Jeffries had significantly contributed to the style and popularity of the company. “Abercrombie & Fitch” primarily focuses on clothing designed specifically for young consumers, yet it also sells men’s and women’s fragrances. In addition to that, “Abercrombie & Fitch” has control over three of its subsidiaries, namely “Gilly Hicks” underwear, “Hollister Co.” store for teenagers, as well as “Abercrombie Kids” stores for children. Even though the company has stores in over 400 locations in the United States alone, the company failed to avoid legal issues, which are related to its treatment of customers, as well as employment practices. “Abercrombie & Fitch” had also met with product criticism, and was even placed in the “Sweatshop Hall of Shame” in 2010. Mike Jeffries became one of the contributors to the negative outlook on the company, by stating that “Abercrombie & Fitch” avoided marketing its products to unattractive individuals. Despite the fact that he apologized for his comments in 2013, “Abercrombie & Fitch” is still negatively perceived by some of its clients.
Mike Jeffries Net Worth $300 Million
A well-known former chief executive officer of “Abercrombie & Fitch”, how rich is Mike Jeffries? According to sources, Mike Jeffries’ net worth is estimated to be $300 million, the majority of which he has accumulated due to his involvement with “Abercrombie & Fitch” company, as well as other business ventures.
Mike Jeffries was born in 1944, in Oklahoma, United States, yet he was raised in California. When Jeffries graduated from high school, he enrolled in the Claremont McKenna College, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. Two years later, he earned a Master of Business Administration degree in Columbia Business School, and continued his studies at the London School of Economics. Around the same time, Jeffries joined “Abraham & Straus” store, where he had an opportunity to work with Millard S. Drexler. One of his first business ventures was the “Alcott & Andrews” brand, which specialized in selling women products. At the very beginning, the company seemed rather promising, yet it soon went bankrupt. When he closed the store, Jeffries went on to work at “Paul Harris”, before he was noticed by Les Wexner, the CEO at “The Limited” company. Jeffries’ main aim was to reshape the old image of the “Abercrombie & Fitch” company, and make it more sophisticated, yet accessible. With Jeffries’ help, the company succeeded in opening dozens of new stores, as well as attracting potential clients. However, “Abercrombie & Fitch’s” success was largely overshadowed by criticism and controversy. Mike Jeffries served as the CEO of the company until his resignation in 2014.
In regards to his personal life, Mike Jeffries married to Susan Marie Isabel Hansen in 1971, yet they eventually separated. Together, they have a son Andrew Hansen Jeffries. Currently, Jeffries lives with his partner Matthew Smith.
Despite the criticism he gets, Jeffries should be credited with taking an old sleepy brand and making it the purveyor of some of the most desirable clothing in the country. His partnership with Bruce Weber and the imagery they created was way ahead of it’s time. Carrying that vision from catalogue to store to shopping bags was brilliant. While some of his statements were not politically correct, he was nonetheless genius. Keep in mind there is little politically correct about high school life. His problem was excessive expansion so the “special” faded and poor location choices for RUEHL which, for what it was, made no sense.