Some analysts said abercrombie and fitch luxury-priced strategy delivers stronger cash than its rivals -- despite the
sales decline. While cash flow from operations fell 40% last year, to $490.8 million, it far outstripped the
$202.1 million generated by Aeropostale. The company abercrombie outlet ended its fiscal year in January with $522.1 in cash and
just $100 million in debt.
But a year of sharp sales declines could put the company in a precarious position, Stifel Nicolaus's Mr. Jaffe
said. He believes the company is trying to ride out the recession, relying on its cash to support the stance.
"The feeling is: We've got the cash, abercrombie we've got the brand -- the worst thing we could do is act like there's a
fire sale," Mr. Jaffe says. "It's not a question of survivability at this point. It's a question of returning
to historical levels of viabilit
