I am writing to let you know about a press conference being held tomorrow to announce a lawsuit charging Abercrombie & Fitch and its subsidiary stores with racial discrimination in hiring.

The press conference will be held at 2:00 at the office of Miller Faucher & Cafferty, One Logan Square, Suite 1700, Philadelphia. (One Logan Square is at the corner of 18th and Cherry Streets.)

At the end of this e-mail, I have pasted a press release about the suit.

Please let me know if you will be able to attend. My phone number is 215-238-1700. Thank you.

Sincerely,Jessica Khan

The following press release describes the lawsuit:

Date: November 19, 2003Location: Miller Faucher and Cafferty, One Loan Square, Suite 1700, PhiladelphiaContact: Bryan Clobes, Esq., Miller Faucher and Cafferty, 215-864-2800

CAMDEN, NJ – A nationwide class action lawsuit was filed earlier today in the United States District Court in Camden, New Jersey, challenging the whites only hiring practices of clothing retail chain ABERCROMBIE & FITCH.

Filing on behalf of the Plaintiff Brandy Hawk and the proposed Class are the Rainbow/Push Coalition, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and three Philadelphia area law firms: Sidney L. Gold & Associates, P.C., Kohn, Swift & Graf, P.C., and Miller Faucher and Cafferty. The lawsuit charges that Abercrombie markets its products by selling a culture and lifestyle which it calls the “Classic American Style.” The catch is that “Classic American” does not mean all Americans. Latino Americans, African Americans and Asian Americans do not fit the “A&F Look.” Because of their race, ethnicity and/or national origin, Abercrombie does not hire minorities to represent the company on the store sales floor. Rather, A&F relegates minorities to stock room positions, or simply rejects their applications.

Plaintiff Brandy Hawk, a New Jersey resident, applied for a sales associate position at the Abercrombie store in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The Complaint alleges that Abercrombie rejected the recommendation of the initial Abercrombie interviewer to hire Ms. Hawk, because Ms. Hawk is African American and does not, therefore, embody the “Abercrombie image.” Outraged by the experience of Plaintiff Hawk, Gary L. Flowers, who is Vice President of Programs of the Chicago based Rainbow Push Coalition and an attorney for the Plaintiff stated: “The Rainbow Coalition is here to ensure that it is not color but qualification that determines opportunity.”

According to Bryan L. Clobes, who is also an attorney for the Plaintiff in this case, “[t]his suit is not the first example of Abercrombie’s mistreatment of minority groups. Just last year, students and civil rights advocates organized and conducted widespread protests and demonstrations expressing outrage over Abercrombie T-Shirts portraying antiquated and offensive stereotype images of Asian Americans.”

“The purpose of this Press Conference is not only to educate the public on the discriminatory behavior of Abercrombie, but to encourage others who may have been mistreated to come forward. If you feel you may have not been hired, or been hired for a position other than a sales position due to your race, ethnicity or national origin, you may contact PUSH and the Plaintiff’s team at www.abercrombielawsuit.com, said Sid Gold, who also represents the plaintiff. In the alternative, you may contact the law office of Sid Gold at 215-569-1999.Abercrombie, which is based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest specialty retailers in the United States, operating over 600 retail stores nationwide.