UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(Amendment No. )
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Preliminary Proxy Statement |
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Definitive Proxy Statement |
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Definitive Additional Materials |
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Soliciting Material under §240.14a-12 |
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
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February 21, 2011
Dear Stockholder:
As you know, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has filed a definitive proxy statement with respect to the
Companys proposal to reincorporate from the State of Delaware to the State of Ohio. Our Board of
Directors has unanimously determined that this reincorporation proposal is in the best interests of
the Companys stockholders and unanimously recommends that our stockholders approve the
reincorporation proposal at the Special Meeting of Stockholders, which is scheduled to be held on
Monday, February 28, 2011 at our offices in New Albany, Ohio.
Although we believe that the definitive proxy statement fully explains the reasons why the
reincorporation proposal is in the best interests of our stockholders, there have been a series of
articles posted by a Deal Professor on The New York Times website that question the Companys
reasons for proposing the reincorporation, question the timing of the proposal and imply that the
Company has some ulterior motive in proposing the reincorporation. In effect, the articles, which
we believe contain a number of factual errors in addition to mischaracterizations of Ohio law and
our motivations, appear to demonize not just us and our proposal but Ohio corporate law itself. As
a public company, we do not have the same ability to wage a campaign of unsubstantiated words in
the public media. However, we would welcome an opportunity to discuss our proposal with you and
address the factual errors and mischaracterizations in the blogs.
In this letter we will address just one of the points raised by the Deal Professor blog: the
speculation that the reincorporation may be intended to position the company for a management
buyout. As a matter of policy, we do not comment on rumors or speculation. However, we think you
should be aware that the reincorporation proposal is the culmination of a review of our corporate
governance profile that has been ongoing for well over a year and a half and has involved a
succession of communications with significant stockholders. We put a lot of time, thought and
energy into developing the balanced corporate governance structure addressed by the reincorporation
proposal, and we spent a considerable amount of time engaging with key stockholders on the issues
underlying the proposal. We believe that the resulting proposal improves the Companys governance
profile and benefits all stockholders.
Accordingly, we believe that Glass, Lewis & Co., one of the largest proxy advisory firms, correctly
assessed the situation when they concluded that: On balance, we find that the proposed changes in
corporate law, charter and bylaws represent positive changes to
shareholders.... and further noted
that the positive aspects of the reincorporation greatly outweigh the negative provisions.
720 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10019
On the recommendation of our Nominating and Board Governance Committee, our Board of
Directors has unanimously determined that the reincorporation proposal is in the best interests of
our stockholders. We hope our stockholders will agree, and would be glad to discuss the proposal in
further detail at your convenience.
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Sincerely yours,
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Michael S. Jeffries |
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Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer |
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Craig R. Stapleton |
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Lead Independent Director and Chairman,
Nominating and Board Governance Committee |
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Ronald A. Robins, Jr. |
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Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary |
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