Abercrombie & Fitch is returning to St. Johns Town Center in the space vacated by Soft Surroundings.
Simon Property Group is the Town Center landlord.
The mall directory lists Abercrombie & Fitch as “coming soon.” A sign at the space says it is coming in fall 2023.
“Abercrombie & Fitch focuses on providing high-quality merchandise that compliments the casual classic American lifestyle,” says the directory website.
It sells men’s and women’s clothing. The Simon website says there will also be a section featuring children’s clothing and accessories.
The city issued a permit Aug. 15 for Tom Rectenwald Construction of Pennsylvania to remodel a 4,481-square-foot space for Abercrombie & Fitch at a cost of $300,000.
The store will occupy Space L09A at 4790 River City Drive.
It is a return to the mall as a separate store for the brand. It’s not clear if it left when the company announced in early 2019 that it planned to close up to 40 stores during fiscal 2019, after closing 29 locations the previous year.
It also said it planned to open additional to make up for the closures, after opening 22 stores in 2018.
However, the pandemic affected the operations of many stores starting in 2020, when retailers temporarily shut down many locations.
In 2022, Altar’d State, Arula and Vow’d, women’s clothing and bridal stores, moved into the former Abercrombie & Fitch/abercrombie kids space at 4712 River City Drive, No. 131. That was space J11.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is based in New Albany, Ohio.
Hollister Co., a clothing brand of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., also operates at St. Johns Town Center. It markets toward teens.
A site search for Abercrombie & Fitch in Jacksonville directs the search to Hollister.
Abercrombie & Fitch is hiring for both stores.
The company’s two brand-based operating segments are Abercrombie, which includes the Abercrombie & Fitch and abercrombie kids brands, and Hollister, which includes the Hollister, Gilly Hicks and Social Tourist brands. The company operates primarily in North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. operates about 760 stores internationally for its brands.
As of April 28, it had 179 Abercrombie & Fitch/abercrombie kids and 377 Hollister stores in the U.S.