The Grove's Abercrombie & Fitch Flagship is Closing

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After serving as a Grove mainstay for more than a decade, Abercrombie & Fitch's West Coast flagship is officially closing next Wednesday, January 21st February 21st. We first received word about the sudden shutter via this post on an A&F superfan site, which reads like a eulogy, complete with history highlights and passionate parting words: "The closure of A&F The Grove (store #10951) is not just the closure of a one-of-a-kind special place in the Abercrombie & Fitch chain but also the closure of a great location realized during the greatness of the Mike Jeffries Era."

A very reliable source tells us that the news is 100% accurate and is due to the store underperforming. They add that the brand closed about 60 stores last year and anticipate a similar number of closures in 2015. Given that A&F at The Grove is very quietly packing up (even staffers wouldn't talk when we called), we wonder if a savvy retailer has already swooped up the prime space.

Update: Abercrombie tells us that the store is closing next month, not next week.
· Abercrombie & Fitch [Official Site]
· Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries is OUT [Racked National]