Abercrombie & Fitch – “Great place to start a career if you are up for the challenge...but it's inevitable that you will leave at some point.”

Pros

Campus is one-of-a-kind. People are great/very cool for the most part. Most talented people in the industry work for A&F. You get promoted quickly as a junior person. Salary adds up quickly. Opportunities to travel all over. Exposure the the CEO. Good benefits and vacation. You have a lot of fun at work and outside of work. Easy to make friends. Training programs are great.

Cons

Bonus plans are terrible. CEO makes the most of any other in retail...yet associates never come close to hitting their bonuses. Most people don't last long enough to actually cash out on the stock. Different standards for different people and managers have varying levels of how critical they are on their team members. Creates an uneven playing field when it comes to promotions. The promotion process is very public...so you always know when your peers are getting promoted. Can create resentment amongst associates and a lot of people leave the company b/c of this.

Advice to Senior Management

Does it make sense to have the highest paid CEO and the lowest paying bonus programs in the industry? Stop promoting people that are terrible managers b/c you are afraid that they are going to leave while not promoting others because you know they don't want to leave.