Abercrombie & Fitch begins selling third-party shoe brands in latest bid to chase growth

Abercrombie & Fitch is taking a page out of rival Aritzia's playbook by adding outside footwear brands like Puma and Sperry to its assortment as the retailer turns to new categories to chase growth . Since partnering with Sperry in April to sell select apparel and footwear styles from the brand online and in stores, Abercrombie has expanded and is now offering shoes from Puma, Frye, Hunter and GH Bass. For now, the only place Abercrombie is offering all of the brands together is at its new 10,000-square-foot outpost in New York City where they launched for the first time this month. If the release performs well, the company could expand the full range of brands to more stores and online in the future. Currently, the only outside brands Abercrombie is selling online are Puma and Sperry. Abercrombie and Fitch store in Soho, New York. Tasia Jensen | CNBC In an interview with CNBC, Abercrombie's new managing director for the Americas Melissa Worth said the expansion into third-party brands is important for customer acquisition, but also helps retain existing shoppers and encourages them to spend more. "Our high-value customers, how do we make sure that we're outfitting them across all of their needs? And this is a place that they can come for those things, but also a new point of discovery for a consumer that we haven't potentially acquired yet," said Worth. …