By Maggie Gaynor

Some well-known brands are seeing a surge in popularity and profits by following one simple strategy: listening to women. 

Abercrombie, the brand once known for dark, cologne-filled stores and shirtless models, is experiencing a resurgence.

Under the leadership of CEO Fran Horowitz and CMO Carey Collins Krug, the revamped brand has seen a nearly 400% increase in stock value in the past 12 months – and they credit much of their success to the new audience they have built among adult women, who have record purchasing power. 

Simply targeting a new audience is not as easy as it seems — this success comes from the willingness of the brand’s leadership to build trust among not only a new audience but a returning one. Besides growing brand recognition among Gen Z, Horowitz and Krug knew that in order to bring Millennial women back to their brand, they needed to reintroduce the brand as one that understands their life now. 

With a new emphasis on inclusivity, the brand features a broader range of sizes, and the fashion is suited for the lifestyle needs of adult women. The women who once relied on the brand to shop for spring break and frat parties no longer want distressed jean shorts and bikini tops, they want options for work meetings, exercise classes, bachelorette parties, date nights and happy hours. That’s why Abercrombie expanded its “Best-Dressed Guest” collection to include more wedding attire.

While Abercrombie leadership acted on a deliberate strategy to appeal to women in their 20s and 30s, the Stanley Cup brand had the unique experience of being introduced to a new female audience through lifestyle influencers when the now infamous Quencher cup was featured on popular online shopping guide The Buy Guide.  When The Buy Guide co-founder Ashley LeSueur saw the cups having increasing popularity on the blog site, she reached out to the executive at Stanley, imploring them to take this interest seriously. 

Luckily for the Stanley brand, they listened to LeSueur. The outdoor-focused, historically male-centered brand introduced a new color palette for the Quenchers targeted toward a female audience. Since then the popularity has continued with limited editions sold out cups, several high profile collaborations, at least one SNL parody, and a notoriously strong allegiance from possibly the most difficult human population to impress: preteen girls. 

There isn’t a single way to find success. Sometimes success is about recognizing what isn’t working and being willing to forge a new path. For a lucky few, sometimes you don’t need to do anything differently besides allowing your brand to be for anyone who loves it.