ANF

What You Should Know

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is a publicly-traded specialty apparel retailer that designs and sells clothing, accessories, and personal-care products under the Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, and Hollister brands through retail and digital channels. Designing and selling apparel is a permissible activity at the activity level under standard Sharia methodology; Abercrombie earns product revenue rather than interest. Following several strong years, the company typically carries cash and investments well in excess of its modest debt, so it comfortably passes the debt-to-market-cap screen; the primary financial-screen consideration is the interest income generated by its cash, a small portion of which should be purified. Subject to verifying ratios at the time of investment, most major Sharia advisory boards classify Abercrombie as permissible with purification of small interest-income components, though some investors weigh the brand's history of sexualized marketing as a qualitative concern.