Beyoncé Snubbed by CMAs + Abercrombie CEO Fran Horowitz Interview
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What's up everyone? It's Chicks in the Office with Rianne Fran giving you that Friday energy on a Wednesday. Happy Wednesday everybody. Happy midweek. Hopefully you're feeling fantastic today. Yes. How you feeling? Fantastic? Yeah. Why not? Why not? Heck. Heck. Why not? It's a little chilly in here. I'm not gonna lie. Yeah, you look snug. Well, it's hot outside today. So I have like biker shorts on and it's

freezing in here. Well, you look cozy with the blanket on. Yeah, I am cozy. By the way, tickets for

for our fall tour, little fall getaway. We'll be on sale Thursday, 12 p.m. Eastern time. We are going to Kansas City, Nashville, Detroit, Buffalo, and Boston. We cannot wait. This is going to be such an amazing tour. We have special guests. We got the whole thing. It's going to be so much fun. And if you have never been to a show before,

If I do say so myself, we really do put on a spectacular show. We really care about our live shows that we put on and we make sure it's entertaining from beginning to end because we as viewers like an entertaining show. So we want our audience members to be entertained the entire time. We do a lot of special prizes.

a lot of giveaways. It is truly such a fun night. And if you're afraid of coming alone, don't be afraid. So many girls we have met in the past have come alone, have made friends online. It's such a great place to meet friends in your city as well. I think that's such an added bonus. So totally tickets on sale 12 p.m. Eastern time Thursday.

So excited. Can't wait to see everybody. I'm so excited. And celebrate. Yeah, all new cities. Yeah, exactly. That's also so fun. And we're also excited about going back to Boston, so it'll be really great, yeah. How are we feeling today? I'm good, yeah. You know, I bit my cheek this weekend, just yapping away. Mm-hmm.

And it really hurts. I'm sorry to hear that. And it's just like that situation. Like now my cheek's swollen. Yeah. And no matter what, when I bite my lip or like, you know, your cheek, lip, whatever, after a few days, turns into a canker sore. Of course. Every time. Yeah. So I'm just waiting for it to like fully peak in its painful form. It's not there yet, but it hurts. So, you know, I could be better. You know what?

And that's okay. It'll heal up. It'll heal up in no time. Other than that, lovely. Yeah, lovely. I dyed my hair. I'm feeling fantastic today. It's brown. Yeah. You look amazing. You look incredible. Thank you. Oh my God, thanks, Noah. There you go. There we go. Yeah. We were waiting for that. I was waiting for that kind of moment. No, it looks...

So good. Thank you. It suits you so well. Thanks. Your eyes are popping. It makes your eyes look more green. That was my goal. Yeah. I talked about this. I have hazel eyes. I felt like they were, you know, they weren't to its fullest potential. I think it looks so good. And... It'll be so easy to manage. Yeah. I just...

I woke up in the middle of the night two weeks ago, literally. And I couldn't fall back asleep because I was picturing myself with brown hair. I was talking about it with my friends before I went to bed. Like one of my friends was like, oh, I love when people like have close to their like natural hair color for their wedding. Like I just love that. I feel like it's so natural, whatever. And I was like, yeah, I don't know what I'm going to end up. You know, I love the color I have now, but like maybe I'll go a little more brown, whatever. And then I woke up and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was like, you know what?

I feel like it might do something if I go more brown. Who knows? You can always go back. Yeah. And my hair has gotten so healthy over the past couple of years. Like, first of all, by the way, I don't have extensions. No. I really want to clear that up. People keep asking if I have extensions. My hair went through too much for people to think I have extensions. OK, I do not have extensions. But I was like, fuck it.

I asked my hairdresser, I was like, what do you think? She was like, I think we should do it. And I was like, all right, let's do it. And I'm thrilled. It looks really, really good. Thank you. I'm really happy with it. I think... And we've been discussing it, you know? So it's like, it's so good. But I said to you this morning, or it wasn't even whatever, it was like an hour ago. Like I said, because you said...

Made you feel mature. Yeah, I was like, ooh. This is a mature look. And I said, honestly, I really feel like when you're fully formed, mature self, that's when you find the right hair color. Like, that's a true sign of maturity. Of your frontal lobe developing. Yes, like you finally find the right hair color for your body.

Self for your features and everything to you know pop to its best ability and there are so many times where If I'm being completely honest, I look at other people that you know are still dying it blonde blonde blonde And I'm like man. They don't even realize how good their hair would look if they dyed it brown Yeah, like I look I'm like damn like they would be you know like whoa and blonde hair looks great obviously but

And sometimes it gets to a point where it's like, would you rather your hair be damaged or would you rather it look full and healthy? And I think that there's a line that sometimes people go over the line because they have blonde blindness and then they can't get back and you can get back. And now that's not to say I didn't like my hair color.

Three hours ago. Because I did. Yeah. I did. It wasn't too blonde. It was like a dirty. It was like a dirty blonde. Yeah. Blondness. But. You know. You got a honey brunette going on now. I'm a honey brunette now. I. The blonde blindness thing is one of the funniest things to me. And they are some of my favorite TikToks. And.

And I do feel like a lot of people are dying their hair dark right now. I think it's like going into fall. But I just, I feel like I've seen a lot of, I'm seeing this one girl who has like a ton of TikTok followers. I'm forgetting her name. But I've never, I had never seen her videos before, but she dyed her hair and then I saw her videos because I like hair transition videos I love. So I always get them on my For You page. Stay tuned. I made one. Yes. I can't wait.

I can't wait. And she's made like 15, this girl. And she was like blonde, blonde, blonde and now she's dark. So it was definitely a drastic change but it looks so good and I just feel like so many people are now thinking like, oh, maybe I'll see what the darker hair looks like trying that out and then there's the blondes and this is

If you're blonde and listen to us, you know, love ya. I don't want to offend any blondes. No, of course not. But the blonde blindness is so funny to me because I see videos of girls being like, today's the day. I'm going dark. I'm changing my hair. It's gonna be... And they're hyping up this change. And they show the after. And I'm like, girl, that's the same color. That's maybe...

Maybe like a slight. I saw one girl who like she was bleaching her hair big time for sure. And she was like, it's so dark now. I was like, oh my God. It's like it's blonde. It's the same color. It's the same color all the time. I do this to Lauren all the time because Lauren like,

She is a blonde and she like when she gets her when she were when her hair starts to get darker And she's like oh my god. My blonde looks terrible I have to go get it touched up, and then she goes I'm like

It looks great. Like you, like they obviously, it's a refresh of course, but you know, it's blonde. It's blonde. Yeah. No, I see those videos all the time and I'm always, I'm always waiting. I'm like, Oh my God, they're going to go dark. This blonde blonde is going to go dark. And then I watch them like, why don't I watch that video? They never do it. They never fucking do it. Um, I was shocked by this one girl cause she was like, I'm changing my hair. And then I mean, it was dark, dark, dark.

And that's not to say that every person looks better with dark hair because that's not true. There are blondes that their hair fully fits them and they should stay blonde. There are some blondes that are like, should I dye my hair black? And you're like, no, don't do that. But yeah, you're right. Finding the right hair color for you is a sign of like... Totally. You're growing up and then you look back and you're like, why was I doing it? Why was I...

And now that we're talking about it, I'm talking about how much I love it. I think it's also a personal thing for me because I look back at my lighter hair and I was like, no. Well, your hair color is so perfect. Thank you. It's so perfect. That's what I'm saying. I think we found the right fit. Right. Well, I hope because if people then watch this and look at my hair and go, oh, what is she talking about? Like it was better before. No. I'm going to be...

a little bit upset, but I like it, so that's okay. Look, I mean, at the end of the day, there's always going to be people that are like, oh, the blonde's so much better. Like, the people, you know, they love the blonde. Right. Some people just love... There's just a blonde bias. Yeah, right. Like, ugh, like, the blonde's so much better, you know? But there will also be plenty who are like, that's your right color. I think everybody...

looking at it in real life is like totally that suits you very very well thank you so much I love it I'm very happy with it and I can't wait to style it in all new styles with this color and see where it takes me so yeah that's that's my day amazing it takes I have a lot of hair so it takes a long time I was sitting on my couch like looking at my phone like this like I was like

And then it got to a time where I was like, she's got to be done with this appointment by now. Yeah, you texted me. You were like, this suspense is killing me. I'm like, I got a lot. It's still being blown out. I got a lot of fucking hair. Well, yeah, because you were like, my hair, you were like, I love it. And I was like, all right, now I'm just sitting here waiting because send me the photo. Well, she blew out the front pieces first so I could see what it looked like. And I was like, woo! And then I had to wait for the rest of my head to be done. And I was like, oh, fuck, I texted too soon. But yeah. No, but it was great. I'm very excited. Great reveal.

I realized I didn't put any of my jewelry on after I went to the gym this morning. And you just... You feel naked. Yeah, naked. Absolutely naked. You know what's crazy? I...

For the most part, as soon as I get home, put my rings in my ring dish. Really? And next to my side of the bed. For the most part. If I'm doing something, whatever. Yeah. But I... All of that engagement ring too? For the most part, yes. Sometimes I'll leave my engagement ring on and I will take it off before I go into the shower. But I like having them on. I just am so...

terrified of like something I know it's at home it's safer yeah but I'm like oh they're in they're in my dish they're safe you know yeah engagement ring safe oh my god I'm sorry I never take like the gym is the only time I take them off I sleep with them on shower with them on I know I shower with them yeah I never take my I never take my rings off

That's crazy. I'm sure a lot of people do. Sometimes I forget to take my watch off if I fall asleep. That I don't love. I don't love when I do that because it kind of hurts. I refuse to shower with them in case they slip off my fingers. They're locked in. Because when I wash my hands, my rings slip. Yeah.

And I've gotten it resized and everything, but it still slips. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I couldn't even imagine putting my hands and washing my hair with my rings on. Oh, I'm doing everything. Oh, my God. Nighttime skincare. That's so brave of you. We're lazy. This is my thing. I actually feel safer when they're on my hands because I am bad with...

Like you're You have your Your ring Designated place Like I'm Never leaves that spot I'm bad with taking them off And putting them in places They shouldn't be Oh okay Like sometimes I'll take them off And Joe's like Why the fuck Is your engagement ring Like next to the sink Like that No Like that's where That's where

That's where the ring is going down the drain by accident. Right. Because I'm taking it off and putting it like in a place that shouldn't be. That's awful. You shouldn't do that. No, I know. Literally. So I keep them locked in. If I'm taking them off, there is a designated place for them and that's it. They do not move from that place. I think it's like a, I don't know. And I have a certain when I travel. It's pretty past all.

Well, my mom never takes her stuff off ever. My mom never takes her stuff off. Gia's rings, I think, are melted into her hands. She never takes them off either. My mom never takes hers off, but I find that to be very brave. Also, when I travel, I have a traveling jewelry thing for my rings.

That as soon as I'm in the room and I'm not leaving the room, it goes next. I literally sleeps next to me with the rings right next to me. Like, I'm very particular about where I place them and I don't place them anywhere else. That's good. Well, thank you. I'm terrified of, you know, because, you know, there's ring insurance exists. Yes, it does. But it would absolutely fucking break my heart if I didn't.

you know, something happened to this ring. I know. I'm like, I couldn't, can't even imagine the conversation I'd have to have with my grandma. Right. Yeah. No, no. Imagine not to scare you, but it's like, well, I do know exactly where I put it today when I took them off. Good, good, good. But yeah, ring insurance exists, but I'm like, this is the one that he got for me. No, it feels irreplaceable.

And with, you know what I mean? Like, it feels like if I don't want to replace that, like he got that from me, like, you know, so whatever. It's besides the point. But I'm sorry you're feeling naked. No, I know. Now I feel extra naked and I just have my aura ring on. But no, I'm I'm I'm super excited. Joe brought our wedding bands home yesterday, too. Oh, stunning. My God, I can't wait to wear that bad boy. Absolutely stunning.

I was like walking around the apartment and I was like, I'm just not going to take it off. Joe was like, no, you really have to. When you sent me the picture, I was like, my jaw, I literally couldn't even type back my feelings. So I was like, holy fuck. Incredible. I love it. So stunning. Yeah. So soon. So soon. So soon. I can't wait till Monday because then it'll be like, it's wedding week. I know.

But it's Wednesday. It is. Last night I watched The Secret Lives of the Mormon Wives. That's what it's called, right? Yeah.

Secret Lives of Morbid Wives. Yeah. They keep calling it Mom Talk. Yeah. And I keep thinking they're talking about Mom Talk. By the way, that's just a side note that every time they say Mom Talk, I'm like, they're going to Mom Talk? Yeah. I'm very confused. I'm like, this isn't Housewives. Yeah. For a while, I also thought that they literally all had an account also that was like called Mom Talk. No, they just... They don't. They just have their own accounts that they all post on together and they call themselves Mom Talk. They call themselves Mom Talk. Yeah.

I mean, I watched the first two episodes after you had said that you watched two. I'm so confused on how to feel. Is that how you feel? Yeah, I've only watched the first two. Why is Ben Affleck's cousin? Second cousin. Oh, okay. Well, I, you know.

Yeah, but they don't know each other. Like the wife has said she's never met him. Oh, Ben. Like I don't think like there. I don't. Doesn't sound close. You think when they get to that level of close relation, when people get to that level of fame, they like write off their second cousins. Yeah, probably. And especially like if he's like in Hollywood and doing his thing and he's got Mormon second cut. Like I just. I got four, fifth, six cousins I'm hanging out with. Yeah. Not Ben. No, it's fascinating to me because obviously they look all the ladies have a different vision for mom talk.

And what they want it to be. And the message they want to send. It's so fascinating to me in the level of like how these, some of these women, not all of them, but some of them can even still want or participate in the Mormon church with the way their lives have gone. And that's also perhaps just my ignorance when it comes to like

what the day-to-day life is like for somebody who's really dedicated to their faith and specifically that faith. But from what I always see in comments and backlash when shows like this come out is people are like, "There's such a terrible representation of the Mormon culture, the Mormon faith. This is not how Mormons are." But we're watching them and they're like, "Yeah, we're all Mormons. We go to church. We do this. We drink sometimes.

We have sex before marriage and we still... I don't know. Like I said, it's just confusing to me sometimes. Same. And I guess that's why I'm confused about why people are like, whoa, what's happening? Because I'm like, they don't really care. They're all like, I don't know. Yeah, I see Whitney, right? It seems like Whitney wants to keep her faith but broaden the...

I don't know, horizons of women in the Mormon church and what Mormon women can do and those kinds of things, which objectively sounds like a good thing, of course, but the Mormon church, they have such strict rules. So...

Like I said, I'm not quite sure. Yeah, I have not finished yet, but I'm going to continue to watch. But it is interesting. And we might have some ladies on to talk about it. Yeah, they've got some crazy stories. They really live a crazy life. Some crazy stories. Truly. All right, let's get into the rest of the show. We have our CETO playlist, five songs each. I think that's what we're going forward with. I think that's what we are proceeding with. And we're going to be talking about...

Beyonce did an interview with GQ and also no CMA nominations for Beyonce. We saw a preview for Demi Lovato's documentary Child Star, where she interviews numerous child stars to talk about their upbringing. And Kate Middleton...

announces she's cancer-free and great new palace puts out this video and we have an interview with ceo of abercrombie uh fran horowitz and it was a really insightful conversation for all the ladies out there that may be an inspiring ceo or wanting to get into that business so let's get into it

We love going to live events. I know Fran has her eyes on the Hans Zimmer concert this Thursday. I'm going. Thanks to Game Time. Oh baby, I'm going. She's going thanks to Game Time. I'm going and I am ecstatic. And she's very excited and we have Game Time to thank for that. And you know how much we love Game Time. Now with their brand new Game Time Picks feature, they're making it even easier to get to a game. Game Time Picks filters out the flush to show you only incredible deals on great seats,

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What time is it? It's game time. All right, welcome back to the Cito playlist where we are each going to give five songs to add to our must-have playlist. Fran, what do you got for us this week? So we're going to go with number one, Semi-Charmed Life, Third Eye Blind. That's a great one. It's always a classic. It's always going to play. Exactly. Then we have Dancing Feet, Kago, DNC. I fucking love this song. This song puts me in a good mood anytime I hear it. And...

That's about it. Just a happy song. Stuck in the Middle with You, Steeler's Wheel. Ooh. Stuck in the middle with you. Yeah, it makes me think of Grace and Frankie, which I miss that show. That was a good show. I always think about us watching that together. Yeah. When we were in the Super Bowl house. In the Super Bowl, yep, yep. In Minnesota. Yeah, great song. Ariana Grande released a We Can't Be Friends, Wave Your Love acoustic album.

Just beautiful, beautiful song. That's going to put that on there. Did you see that she liked a comment where somebody said they want to change the name from Arianators to Sunshineers? And she liked that comment. But you're too far into the game, Ariana. You can't change them now. Yeah, but it's like if she decides that it's going to change, they'll follow. They will follow, yes. She liked it, so I don't know. Arianators has always been one of my favorites.

least favorite. It's hard to say. It's tough to say and it's hard to remember. I always forget that one. Sunshineers. Sunshineers is great. That's a good one. Yeah. Great one. Beauty and the Beast, Justin Bieber. Oh, keep an eye out for Celine. Yep. Yep. That's another one. Just any time it comes on. Great music video too. Oh, one of the best. Okay. That was unfortunate. We spent too much time together. Yeah. No, it was... His age and...

At the time, but great video. Yeah. I also wanted to share that I went to the... I went to a bookstore in Saratoga over the weekend. They had all these vinyls in there too that they were selling. And I was like, I could have bought like a million of them. And they were so great. And I got...

Chapel Roan and Joe got it was like the most like Fran Joe like Joe got Billy Strings a Billy Strings vinyl and a Talking Heads vinyl and I got a Chapel Roan and the Disney 100 which like all I did was look at the at the track list for Disney 100 and I was like not only will I listen to this but I

Such a great one to have when there's little kids running around. Oh, yeah, to pass on. To pass on. Because it goes all throughout time.

So it's like the old ones. No, it's like the first size that you have songs like, you know, when you wish upon a star, bippity boppity boo. Oh, classic. And then you got once upon a dream. It's a small world, bare necessities. It's the bare necessities. The simple bare necessities. My mom actually sent me a video of Luca watching the Jungle Book today. Oh, adorable. And it was the King Louie part. And she said, we're thinking of you. Thinking of you. I said, don't worry. You don't have to play that for him. I can do it. Yeah. Yeah.

This one was probably the best. Under the Sea, Beauty and the Beast, Circle of Life, Colors of the Wind, Reflection, Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride.

We're all in this together. Wow. Let it go. How far I'll go. Remember me. We don't talk about Bruno. I'm like, this is a fantastic. That is a must buy. That is a must. Joe was like, wait, Joe thought I was kidding. I was like, no, no, no, we're getting this. It's a must have. Excuse me. Exactly. Must have. So we added that to our vinyl collection. That's an amazing part of the collection. That's great. I was very happy about that. Did you guys listen to or get the Now CDs when you were younger? Those were like. They still making those?

Are they? It would be like now like 300. I know. That's what I'm saying. Like, do they still make them? I don't know. Not a lot of people are listening to CDs these days. I see a now 118. Wow. I mean, that's a high number. Okay, Rhea, what do you have in your playlist? Okay, I told you guys my first song. You guys were going to go, oh! You did hype it up. Ready? Yep. Don't, Ed Sheeran. Oh, yeah. I fucking love that song. Bad!

I met this girl late last year. You know who that's about? Ellie Goulding cheating on him. Yeah, I think that's a trivia question. Wow. That's a great song. There's a version where John Mary's playing with him. Really? Like a live version. Oh, I fucking love that song. I gotta put... I gotta put...

Castle on a Hill is that the name of it that's yeah that's is that the name of the song that's a different album but yeah no I know but that's like I fucking love that song I gotta put that on the playlist I'll remember it for next week you forget about Ed Sheeran you know like that's one Ed Sheeran song that anytime it comes on or it's on the radio or something I'm like oh turn it up you know why that's how I feel about Don't yeah I'm like I met this

at this girl late last year yeah uh the a team like the a team the reason i came was the one yeah every time i put my phone into the car it would put the a team on and it ruined it for me i liked the a team you know i think a lot of people had that one um vampire weekend i had no mine was always always with either mine or my mom's u2 album

It's like alphabetical. Because the car will be like whatever it's A. Yeah, whatever it's... So mine was the song from Slumdog Millionaire. What song is that? You know, I'm spacing on the name of it. But the... It was always... Jai Ho!

Oh, I don't know if I, I think I probably would know. Yes, I know that song. But I don't know why it was the first one to come on. Maybe because the A-R, whoever the artist is, it starts with A. Oh, that's it. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, because mine was, mine always went by artist and not song. Yeah, I was going to say, I thought, I think mine might have been like an Afrojack song. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because mine went artist. Oh, mine was the best song.

So literally, you would have Pong and it'd be like, Jai Ho. Yeah, I remember that song. You are the reason that I breathe. Yep. Moving on, Crew Love, Drake, and The Weeknd. The reason I put this on was because...

Yeah. And when we were at the club on Friday, the speaker went out, the music shut off while Crew Love was playing. Noah's looking at me. He doesn't remember at all. And everyone sang it together to, you know, fill the dead air. Beautiful moments. Specifically Andrew. Beautiful moment in the club. Gas pedal remix, John Summit. Got money, Lil Wayne.

♪ Get a Winn-Dixie grocery bag full of money right now ♪ Yeah. In the air tonight, Phil Collins. - Oh, wow. - Yeah. There was one time when my sister and I did shrooms in Florida by the pool. And I told her to envision

Phil Collins coming out of the water to this song. And we still joke about it. Yeah. Like just whenever I hear the song, I'll text him. I'm like, just imagine Phil Collins rising out of the pool to sing. I can feel it coming. You know, and he's just Phil Collins is just rising up from the pool water. Yeah. All right. That's it for me. Beautiful.

Okay, so I have Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe, Kendrick Lamar. Yeah, that's a good one. The day before he was announced for the Super Bowl, I was randomly like, you know, I don't know if I have like, when's the last time I listened to that album in full. So I played the entire album in full. You know what I desperately need to stop doing is singing the one lyric from the song because I literally, I know that I've just done it the entire segment. I was just about to go, Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe.

my mom and I was like nobody needs to keep hearing me sing this I was just like singing the title like of the songs you know but it just keeps coming out of my mouth like I can't even stop myself I will say that song specifically is one of the hardest ones to hear the title and not immediately yeah it's just like whatever I'm sorry I'm gonna try to refrain but I can't

I'm looking at the songs I have left to see if you might sing any of them. I don't think so. The next one I have also kind of like, you know, Super Bowl. So just getting in that mindset. It's far away, but yes. It is far away. I was excited for my guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Part of me. Oh, Not Like Us is on. Everybody go crazy.

That was Noah Friday night. I don't think you mentioned that on the podcast. Oh, I didn't say that. Yeah. But yeah, apparently I got very excited when they started playing Not Like Us. Noah threw his hands in the air and he was like, oh! Yeah. That's my jam, guys. That's my fucking song. Also, apparently Andrew and Tommy were refusing to dance because of their allegiance to Drake. Oh, yes. Noah was like, turn it up!

No, literally, it's, yeah, your drunk friend in the Uber. Oh my God, I fucking love this song. Turn it up. Don't you dare skip this one. This is sounding like maybe...

the most black that i've been since college like actually 100 because i can't remember another time where i don't actually remember like these are things that i would remember like you know you brown out and you remember certain how do i not remember the music going out like all that stuff the music went out everyone's saying it like i just wasn't there yeah that's right no it's okay we have but we had such a good time telling you about it um

Part of me, Tedeschi Trucks Band. That's a great one. That's a great one. If you don't know who they are, listen to that one, then you'll get into them. Yep. Noah's biggest fan. Canyon Moon, Harry Styles. Oh, great choice. But you know what? That's an underrated one. It is. And I kind of like don't, because sometimes when like Spotify shuffles, it'll put on like

his most recent album and i kind of forget about fine line yeah not forget but it just i don't listen to it that much but i never forget it's a great one no uh golden slumbers the beatles which is also kind of just like uh it's on abbey road but like i looped that in with like the second half of that album it's just like all they blend into each other so it's kind of that song i think i know that i was gonna say i can't think of that once there was a way

Once there was a way. I was petrified. Once there was a way. I think that's it. You wouldn't know if you heard it. Yeah, yeah. And then Bodyguard by Beyonce to show my solidarity. Show your respect. Because we're going to lead right into it. So you'll talk about it. What a great segue into the topics. Yeah. Well, that's a great five songs from each of us. Yep. And we're going to lead right into the topics.

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Beyonce was snubbed, no CMAs for her, even though her album was fantastic, and no nominations. I think that's absolute bullshit. Yeah, I agree. Really gotta say, because while she is a, whatever, I don't get the, are they saying she's not a country artist? Does that matter if you put out a country album? I don't think it matters.

I don't see what maybe that's the way they looked at it. But I feel like they're like, well, that's they're not accepting the fact that she made country music her own. Like, oh, because her songs aren't like tradition. So traditional that they're like, well, this doesn't count. Like, here's a good question. Do Beyonce need to submit Cowboy Carter and Texas Hold'em to be eligible for a CMA award nomination?

Oh, well, I assume yes. I feel like you do have to when it comes to those awards. No? Well, the Grammys you do. Yeah, the CMA Awards nominating process and whether or not Beyonce's team had even submitted her music given her complicated history with the country community and the CMA Awards.

It turns out they didn't need to submit. Unlike many other award shows, labels, artists, and their teams do not submit entries for the CMA Awards. Instead, the roughly 6,600 voting members each receive a write-in ballot to list their choices. Each member can make one nomination per award category. Therefore, Beyonce's label or team did not need to submit her to be eligible.

The exception is the single of the year category, which is a pre-populated drop-down list of all qualifying top 10 singles from the country charts noted in the criteria. The write-in ballots are tabulated and the top 20 vote recipients in each category end up on the second ballot with the exception of entertainer of the year, which consists of the top 15 vote recipients. Um...

That's crazy.

I'm not going to lie. You said a lot of words that didn't register. So fine. I was also reading them and trying to process what I was saying at the same time. It just sounds like... Try to explain it. Voters have the option to submit questions

many, many candidates. And then there's another vote, goes to a second ballot of the most populated votes from the first. And they're saying the second ballot, which would have a long list, a longer list of songs, song of the year, like Texas Hold'em was not even on that. So it's like, obviously they're not on the final nominations list. We know that. But even on that longer, longer list, didn't make it to that. Yeah. Yeah.

Interesting. Okay. Yeah.

Oh, for his duet with Morgan Wallen. Are they basically saying Beyonce didn't collaborate enough with any other country music artist? Yeah, that quote saying Beyonce didn't do enough. She didn't stick her head in the country game enough besides making this album. No, I know, but they're saying since Post Malone made a song with Morgan Wallen and all these other people and he's hanging out with Jelly Roll and all this stuff that makes him more of a country music artist. I'll be honest, that's a bad quote.

That's a bad way to look at it. I would also want to stay anonymous if I was throwing out statements like that too. Yeah, I mean. She really didn't embrace the genre. I mean, she made an, what do you mean embrace the genre? She's never made a country album before and then made a country album. And also the whole point of making the country album was also her way of like talking about how she has never been embraced by that world in the first place. So why is she now gonna. Right. Ugh.

I don't like that. She made a country album. And it was a fucking fantastic country album. When people try to say that that album's not good, I'm like, what? Like, who are you? And why? Why are you trying to say that? Yep.

However, another Nashville executive, this person, who also asked to remain anonymous, said they were shocked that Beyonce's work received no nominations, quote, given the credit to new black creators and Linda Martel. Cowboy Carter, in addition to Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, featured Martel, the first black woman to play the Grand Ole Opry in 1969, and a number of rising black artists.

including Britney Spencer, Tanner Adele, Raina Reynolds, Tierra Kennedy, Willie Jones, and Shabuzy. Shabuzy received two nominations for New Artist of the Year and Single of the Year, took to Instagram and expressed his thanks to being nominated, but also thanked Beyonce, posting, Thank you, Beyonce, for opening a door for us, starting a conversation, and giving us one of the most innovative country albums of all time. That was nice of him. Yeah, yeah.

Yep. And a lot of people were like, look, the message is extremely loud. Yeah. That's great. I think it's really, really fucked up that there was nothing. And whatever. They want to say, oh, only one song really had that much commercial success. Is that how they look at things? But Texas Hold'em was everywhere. Right. It really was. So that's at least a nomination. Yeah. Crazy. That's insane. Yeah. Yeah.

Yep. It really doesn't make sense. Yep. And I'm sure a lot of people are confused. Totally. With how that went down. Beyonce also did an interview with GQ. This was not mentioned in the interview because I'm sure this interview was done. Yeah, I'm sure it was months ago, yeah. But she did talk about her love for other artists and, you know, other girls that are in the game right now. But she...

But the truth is, and this felt like very Nella, but the truth is I spent most of my time listening to the classics, like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye. I was like, you know what? Yeah. You know what? She likes what she likes, and those are the classics. They are. But she did give a lot of love to a lot of other ladies, and she also gave a lot of love to Miley Cyrus. She said, I'm obsessed with my backseat baby. I'm a smiler, which just...

That song is obviously fantastic. Miley and Beyonce together. And the fact that she said, I'm obsessed with my backseat baby. Love it. The fact that that song wasn't nominated for anything. I mean, the whole album is so good. But there are individual songs too where you're like, what?

I know. I guess Two Most Wanted was never like a... I don't know if it matters if it's a single or... I feel like it doesn't matter. I don't know. I have no clue. I'm not familiar with the CMAs, but it's like there has to be like a song of the year. No, there is. There is. Yeah, I mean, yeah. Well, I mean, I think they're like...

They look at all the country singles and all that. I mean, look, we're biased because we listen. I think that album was one of the best albums that came out. This year. This year. Yeah. And it's a country album. Like, it should be recognized. Yeah.

as such if they are country music album awards. For sure. So it is fucked. I agree. Moving on, there was a preview for Demi Lovato's new documentary, The Child Star Documentary, where she interviews...

a ton of child stars Drew Barrymore Raven Simone there are Keenan yeah Keenan Thompson Alison Stoner Alison Stoner there are a ton of people Christina Ricci yeah there are a ton of people involved in this which I think

Everybody finds to be incredibly interesting, especially these people that are involved. Yeah. I think, you know, we all knew, we all know about Drew Barrymore's upbringing and the crazy life that she has lived starting from when she was a child. But I think we're going to learn more, even more about these other child stars that have grown up today and the conversations that Demi is having with them. I'm very interested. I think that Demi has lived quite a life and has, you know,

you know, coming out, come out on the other side of it a lot of times. And I am very interested in this. Same. I remember there were a lot of talks about Demi wanting to do something like this or put something together for a child star documentary or sit down or something that maybe it had felt like a little more Nickelodeon Disney based or

And then there was never really any updates about it. And then, boom, this whole trailer came out for the documentary. And it, of course, reaches into other areas, too, when you have Christina Ricci and Drew Barrymore, who were acting for so, so long when they were so, so little. So I think it's going to be really good. I'm very intrigued to hear her...

Just because obviously it's like fandom wise. Seeing her talk to Alison Stoner. Yes. Because Alison Stoner was around for a lot of that

end of camp rock what's going on with demi realm and i'm sure i mean i'm sure allison has her a lot of her own stories to tell as well so i'm very intrigued to hear that conversation it seems like demi maybe apologized to allison stoner about yeah look like there was something yeah which i'm sure there's periods of things that she doesn't even remember that allison tells her about so i'm very interested in that and anytime i hear about demi lovato's life i am

fascinated by what she has been through and all these other people that are involved. I'm excited to hear about it. You know what gave me a massive like, whew, I feel old was that it came out that her little sister Madison is having a baby. And I was like, holy moly, I'm old. You know when I had that feeling was when

Sophia Ro... What are their names? Yeah, yeah. Sophia Grace. Sophia Grace. And Rosie. And Rosie. Yeah. Sophia Grace is having baby number two, I think. She's having her second baby. And I was like, holy fuck. Yeah, I know. What do you mean she's having her second baby? Yeah. I literally, like, I picture Demi's sister. I just got one vision of her. And I'm just like, oh my God, she's having a baby. Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. But...

No, this is, I'm definitely very, very interested in this. Drew Barrymore posted this like great, almost consider it maybe like a think piece type situation that she, it was like multiple slides on Instagram of her thoughts on kind of now raising her own kids that are approaching those teenage years and how her mother's

parenting affected her and how she was at that time versus now like what technology is like for her kids and the access that people have and just it was very interesting to see like kind of the initiatives that she wants to try and push through and talk and and be a voice for like young kids and

Being so attached to technology and phones and having access to so much in the world that like could be so detrimental to them. And I thought it was I thought it was really interesting. So, yeah. And I see I'm very interested to see what she does with that. Yeah. And I feel like that makes a lot of sense for Drew Barrymore.

I mean, for somebody who lived the life that she did without all this technology and realizing what kids have now access to is even more. And like she starts talking about how she's had to kind of figure out what kind of parents she wants to be because it's obviously she's like, you know, I had such a hands-off upbringing that I don't want to go full-

Trying to find a happy medium. But I thought it was very interesting. Yeah, that is very, very interesting. Last topic, Kate Middleton. It is announced that she is cancer free, which is amazing, amazing news. And Kensington Palace put out a video. They did. And we'd love to know the details. Who's the videographer? Great.

Great production value. I feel like they've never done something like this before. Correct me if I'm wrong. I know they obviously photos and photo shoots. Not to my memory. And things like that. But this is like a full three minute Instagram and they're walking through the woods and they're picnicking and Will and Kater are, you know, canoodling. You never really see them. Zero displays of public affection. They had to do something after everything. And I feel like best case was letting it cool down.

And then coming out with this video. It almost felt like taking a page out of Harry and Meghan. Like this felt like a video Harry and Meghan would make. Totally. Totally. So. Relatable. Yeah. Yeah. I love seeing Will and Kate like that. You know, I hope that everything is good with them. I've always loved those two. But I don't... There's still just rumor after rumor now of it's...

Those brothers are just still not talking and it's sad. It is sad. It's a family dynamic. But it just seems like Will really hardened and just closed the door. That's at least the story that the press has been telling right now is that he's like, no, does not want to have any relationship with Harry. It's just a family dynamic we'll never understand. Us normies are never going to understand this royal family life and the grudges that they hold for Harry.

For generations upon generations against each other. I know. It is very sad when two brothers won't talk, but it seems like they both have their reasoning. Yeah.

Yeah, that's very true. I'm just happy to see that Kate is okay. I agree. It was a really beautiful video, a very beautiful message. She wrote, As the summer comes to an end, I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment. The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know it can change in an instant, and we have to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown. She continues on,

And then said, you know, doing what I can to stay cancer-free is now my focus. Although I have finished chemotherapy, my path to healing and full recovery is long, and I must continue to take each day as it comes. To all those who are continuing their cancer journey, I remain with you side by side, hand in hand. Out of darkness can come light, so let that light shine bright. And that's beautiful. And actually, it's a video by Will. Will War. Oh. Credit right there. That's him. He does weddings. Oh, okay.

And food and travel films and film production. He does it all. And he's got a film production company as well. Now. God, that's got to be. You get the call. You get the call.

That they want... They're like, the palace wants you to make this video. Will wants Will. Yeah. When it comes to her, you know, note that she put out there, it is very true. Like, just because she finished chemo and is technically cancer-free, the journey with cancer is an incredibly long one. And it never goes away. You know? It's like, once you have cancer, that is something you...

deal with for the rest of your life. And so diligent about it as well. Right. So I hope that Kate continues the path that she's on of, of feeling healthy and better. Yeah, I agree. It's a beautiful video. Beautiful. So I'm glad that they were able to share good news with everybody. Yes. I think a lot of people love to see that. And that wraps up the topics. You don't have to be selling out stadiums to feel like you're chilling backstage. You just need Coors Light.

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All right, everyone, we are here with a very special guest. We are joined by the CEO of Abercrombie, Fran Horowitz. Thank you so much for joining us. Well, thank you so much for having me. We are so excited that you are here. We are obviously decked out in our Abercrombie. I love it. As we are every day. Even better. Love it. Thank you for repping the brand. As we are all the time. As always. Now, I guess we have plenty to discuss, but we have met. We got to do an awesome trip.

to Columbus and we walked around campus and it's really such a fun experience

cool place, great environment. Everybody was so welcoming and lovely. And it was such a great trip. So it makes us even more excited to be working with you guys. Like walking into the lunchroom, I was like, oh my God, I feel like it's my first day of school. Like I'm so nervous. It does kind of have that feel of like a college campus. Oh, it definitely has a feel of a college campus. And if you get over to your point, you get over to the cafe around 1130 or 12 o'clock. I mean, it is just filled, filled, filled, filled with young associates. And it's just,

And it's just, it is a truly amazing place to work. I'm happy you guys came and experienced the campus itself. It's a mile drive up Fitch Path every morning. And I have to tell you, almost 10 years in this October, not one day does that feel old. I mean, every day, it's just incredibly inspiring to know what's going to be at the other end once I park my car. So that's amazing. When you

walk around campus, say you walk into the cafe, do you feel like everybody's like, oh my gosh, she's here? You know what? It's a great question, Mia, but my leadership style is very approachable. And in fact, I go to the cafe every day when I'm obviously if I'm not traveling or doing something fun and special like being here with you guys. So my whole mantra is always to be approachable.

I go get my coffee every morning. I usually go over there around lunchtime. And every time I welcome new associates on campus, I tell them, when you see me in there, please come up, say hello. You find out a lot of good things when you wait online. Oh, yeah. Ears are perfect. Do a little chit-chat, ask a few questions. That's amazing. When we talk about Abercrombie, we always have now left it at, you know, Abercrombie.

When is it proper to use Abercrombie and Fitch?

Well, the truth is Abercrombie and Fitch Co., truthfully, right? And we do have a very important brand called Hollister, which is actually on fire right now. And so sometimes, you know, it's hard when the namesake of the company is actually one name of the brand as opposed to both names. So when I do things like this, I like to make sure that, you know, I find a balanced time and make sure we talk about both teams. So you got Abercrombie and Fitch, you got Abercrombie, you got Hollister all underneath, you know.

Which is good because sometimes I feel like people think that they're correcting us. We're like, we're wearing Abercrombie. What about Abercrombie and Fitch? I think you guys are the insiders. You get to say Abercrombie. Hey, we got the in. We feel cool. We certainly do. But we want to hear more about your story, your journey, because, you know,

CEO of Abercrombie is a massive job, huge responsibilities. You've changed this company so much, but I'd love to know kind of those earlier years, what you were doing before you were at Abercrombie. And, you know, when does one have aspirations to be a CEO when they are younger? Because I can't like.

I can't even imagine being, you know, I'm gonna be a CEO. I hope kids say that. - Yeah, I hope so too. - When they're filling out their things at school and it's like, what do you wanna be when you grow up? - Yep, CEO. - Exactly. - Of anything. - Exactly. So where did that journey start?

Oh, my gosh. Fran, that journey started, I mean, it started so long ago. I mean, literally, if you go back in time to even growing up, I grew up in Westchester County up in New York and worked at a clothing store in high school called Country Bumpkins. Great name. Great name. Started my own little business when I was in college called Sweat Success, which was all about decorating sweatshirts for fraternities and things of that nature because it was very different back then. They didn't have the opportunity.

We didn't have the assortment that you have today. Were you a part of like a sorority? Yes. But I did it for all sororities, anybody that was interested. What gave you that idea? Because basically what was available then was just very basic. There just wasn't a lot of excitement out there. So my parents got a kick out of it. I'd be home for the holidays and I'd be down the basement, you know, painting, decorating, doing all that kind of stuff.

So I always had a passion for fashion. When I graduated, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do at first, but the concept of a training program always appealed to me. I'm a very scheduled, organized person. I had a woman who's, I would say, was sort of like an older sister, a family friend who I grew up with.

She had gone through a retail training program and I was very intrigued by the concept of it. And so I had the opportunity to join Saks Fifth Avenue and went through their training program, which again, you know, you're an assistant, you're a senior assistant, you're a buyer, you go through the whole scheduling thing. As time went on, I just realized that I had quite an innate ability to fix businesses, to be able to sort of see inside a business and understand what the opportunities were.

That led me on to switch a little bit of my career later on. And I went from being a department store retailer, I was at Bloomingdale's at that time, to what's called vertical retailing, which is what we do at Abercrombie, which is when you design, create, and produce your own product. So at the age of 40, when many people say you can't ever change, I had this incredible opportunity to move to Columbus, Ohio with my family.

And that was coming from the New York area. Big, big change. In fact, when I got the call originally, I had to sort of look at the map and say, where is Columbus, Ohio? Yeah. Yeah.

But I ended up joining a company called Express and just continued to just love retail and fell in love actually with the concept of creating your own brand as opposed to buying other people's brands and representing them in a space. So I did that for a while. I came back to New York for a little bit. I was president of Loft. And then I got this phone call one day about joining Abercrombie.

My family at that time, actually, my daughter was in college and my husband and my son had stayed in Columbus when I came back to New York. And they were all loving it at that point. So I thought, OK, let me let me see what this is all about.

And it has been 10 years of the most incredible, absolute incredible journey I could have ever imagined. When I first joined, the brands were just double digit negative, like in our world, right? Just declining. And the brand health was just very sadly, you know, not what it used to be after it had been just two incredibly iconic brands.

And there was something in my gut that just said, this is something incredible to do.

And look where we are today. Yeah, I am. Ten years of a lot of work, but here we are today. And I think your hard work really shows because the product is incredible. And I think from that moment on, thinking about the year that you joined, just to see from that year, which was 2017, right around to... 2014 is when I joined as President Hollister. Yes. Became CEO in 2017. Yeah. And then since then, now it's 2024. And to see how much

the brand has grown to be, you know, what it was because, you know, when we grew up, it was like Abercrombie, Hollister, these brands that we all wanted to wear every single day. When you go to school, you want to be the one wearing Abercrombie and Hollister. And now it's,

back and better than ever. I think the product has gotten even better. No, absolutely. It must be. How kind of gratifying is it now to hear? Because it really does feel like that is the main conversation around the brand is like, or

Or you talk to... I have the experience with my older relatives and they're like, oh my God, I can't believe you're working with Abercrombie. I'm like, yeah. And they're like, everybody's talking about it. It's so great. It's back. That's what everyone loves to say. And it's...

like that just must be so gratifying to hear everybody like have that passion for the brand again it is incredibly satisfying especially because it took a long time right because everyone that's saying that today was not on the journey necessarily for the whole time so the big decision at the beginning was you know two brands that were essentially competing with themselves

And we had to decide, A, do you make just one brand and put it together? Or do you make a true iconic global teen brand, which is what Hollister has become, and age up the Abercrombie consumer? If you ask a lot of the marketers out there, it's something that they'll tell you probably can't be done to reimagine a brand like that. And so that challenge, once it was thrown at us, we're like, all right. Yeah.

Let's roll up those sleeves and see what we can figure out. And that's exactly what we've done. So Hollister really found its place in the teen market. And now, just like you guys, I mean, it's just probably 20-ish or so you enter the Abercrombie brand and you stay well, well on. Right. Yeah. And I think it just resonates so well with our age group. And I feel like it's very age appropriate, but still cool. You know what I mean? It's like...

you feel comfortable going to work in what you're wearing. Like, I mean, this is obviously not your usual workplace. But even like the different pants, the trousers, everything, the sweaters, like there's so many options, like from full sweaters to crop. And then even with like the NFL collection, just being so like comfortable

with the brand and what people are into. And like I said, cool. Like I, when we showed the sweaters last week or the week before, like people were like, oh my God. And it's already sold out. You're like, it just flies off the shelf. It moves so fast. I'm so glad I got this. Like you guys had the Eagles bomber jacket. I was like, I need that jacket.

immediately right and thank god i did because now it's it's like and then it was gone and i was like sorry everybody it's so cool and i feel so honored that you guys want to work with us because i see tiktoks all the time where it's like oh my god look at this like the the bomber jacket like look at this bomber jacket from abracadabra everyone's like oh my god it's sold out all

writing in the comments. People are trying to get it from each other. So it's amazing. Yeah, it's been so great for us because it's been a dream brand for us to work with for a long time. I remember specifically, I want to say it was maybe 2019. It was 2019. We had moved just into this office, I remember. And we'd also, we'd gone out on a trip once.

LA and we went to this premiere and we were working we had some clips we had to film whatever and I wore a dress from Abercrombie and I remember posting on Instagram and everyone was like where's the dress from where's the dress from I was like it's from Abercrombie and they were like what no and I would ever like even since then we're like this we really would love this partnership to come to fruition and it's been so nice that it has I said I got stopped on

I got stopped on the street this morning walking to work a man who looked very fashionable I would have I would assume he maybe worked in fashion I don't know but he was like can I ask you where your sweater oh my god I love that and I was like it's Abercrombie he was like I knew it like he like and he was then he has to take a picture of my sweater yeah he was like you care your face isn't it I was like I go for it yeah go for it no it's

amazing like on the side while I like and the quality is incredible I still have my favorite bathing suit from Abercrombie I got in 2019 it's a cheetah print bathing suit I still I wore it all summer like just the quality is fantastic but when you're talking about your journey to becoming CEO you also mentioned you have a family you are a mom you had to make these decisions yes what was that like in the transition to be moving your family to Columbus moving back and then going back to them

So my, it's funny that we actually didn't start on family because that's usually where I start any of these talks because my family is obviously very near and dear to me. So my husband is incredibly supportive and I have two grown children and a son-in-law and a future daughter-in-law. And I call us a six pack and we do a lot of things together and travel as a six pack. But going back in time, you know, it's very important as a female leader, I will say to both of you and all of those listening that

to make sure you bring your kids along with you on your career. It is one of the most important things that you can do. And when my daughter was little, I can't remember, maybe seven or eight, I asked her what she wanted to be for Halloween. And she said, "I don't want to be a working mommy. I want to be a stay-home mommy for Halloween." And I was like, "Wow, she is really..." First of all, what does that look like? Can we just get a visual? What does that look like? And what is she trying to tell me?

And she was trying to tell me that the other moms are there picking their kids up at school or they're fur plated or whatever it might be. And, you know, I'd made a decision. It was not me. I wasn't there. But it was a very pivotal moment for me because I realized I have to help her understand why it's so important for me to do what I do. And from that point forward, she has always been a very big part of my journey, probably my biggest fan today.

And my son as well. My son, I also credit and say, you know, when he becomes successful executive someday, that he will be very understanding of women in the workplace, what it takes, the sacrifices, the balance, all of that, because he's also experienced it from a different perspective.

So that's my advice out there, which is always just make sure, you know, you bring them along and you help them understand what you do, why you do it. We just actually had our first Bring Your Child to Work Day at Abercrombie, and it was an incredible, incredible success. I love that. That's amazing. Now, is that something that you felt strongly about doing, like, because of how much this means to you? Yes. And it was a matter of timing, too. You know, it's funny. We...

our average age of our associate when I first started was about 27 and it's now closer to 30 because people are staying for a lot longer because of our culture and all the things that we've done. So there's a lot of kids now. There weren't as many kids and married couples for years ago and so it's all been part of the timing and the passion obviously to make sure that the kids know what you're doing. - You mentioned the culture and how everyone has really fallen in love with working there.

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Minimum three legs required. Other wagering restrictions apply. Max bet varies. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng.co slash ftball. What were kind of some of the steps that you had to take to change that conversation around the culture of being an employee for Abercrombie and kind of the culture

that the public had of what the brand was and what was going on behind the scenes? Amazing question. So there's so many different ways to get at that. But the most important thing I did when I first got there was help everybody understand that there is autonomy and accountability in what you do.

The prior leadership really believed in much more of sort of a top-down management, and I believed in everything coming from the bottom up, that good ideas come from everywhere. Make sure you're a good listener. Get out there. Listen to what people's ideas are. Help them bring them to you. We had a situation many years ago where I had a merchant stand up in the front of a meeting and show a T-shirt for Pride.

I was like, fantastic. Like, let's do it. Get into the stores. They're like, well, we're not allowed to do these in stores. We can just do it as sort of an internal campaign. Kind of scratched my head and I thought, did my research to try to understand what that was all about. And from that day forward, that obviously changed dramatically. Obviously, what's important to our associates and what's important to our customers is what's important to us. And we have to just make sure that all of the partnerships that we have out there represent that at all times. Right. And like...

going off what your morals align with and leading from that way on. Yes, and a lot of it does still come from the bottom up though. I mean, another great example is we've had a partnership with an organization called Serious Fund Children's Network, which are camps for kids with serious illness around the world, and the kids get to go for free.

And it was a new organization for me. I hadn't experienced it before I got to Abercrombie. But I watched our associates come back from these camp experiences, literally telling me that their lives were changed. I'm like, all right, I got to find out about this, right? I got to dig in and see what this is all about. And went to camp, you know, volunteered, experienced it, formed a longer standing partnership with them.

So you really do have to listen to what it's really comes from the associates. It's not about what matters to the executives. It's really what matters to the associates. Right. When you talked about your journey and you mentioned that this, you know, came to you at the age of 40 and you obviously had an amazing career before that. What's your advice to young women around our age who may be thinking like, I keep trying and I'm not there yet, but they see other people around the same age that maybe are ahead of them. Like what's a piece of advice that you would give?

I think you have to be courageous. I think you have to continue to learn and develop along the way. You're never done. I'm a perpetual student. I mean, I just turned 61 a few weeks ago, and I love learning and love listening. So don't ever, don't ever give up. I mean, that goes all the way back to sports with your kids. When you say to them they're losing 10-0, you're like, don't ever give up. There's still a chance out there.

But make sure that you do a lot of networking and you make sure that you continue to work

broaden your scope. What I tell the associates on campus all the time is anytime you have an opportunity to raise your hand, to be captain of a project, something that's maybe going to help you meet some other people within the Abercrombie community that you don't directly work with, raise your hand, volunteer, make sure you broaden your scope. And there's lots of ways to do that as well. Yeah, what I do love about our generation, I think I see it more, especially like on social media, where women like when they

get to, you know, mid to late 20s in their 30s. I feel like maybe it used to be like, oh, when you turn 30, like your life changes, your life is over. But now everyone's like, my life has just begun. Like at this age, like in your 30s, it gets even better. Your 40s, it gets even better because you learn so much more and gain so much more confidence in yourself. With that, with that.

Without a doubt. I mean, the more experience you have and the older you get, there's no question. I mean, you can watch it from the young associates as well as they grow and develop. You can see over the years when I've worked with several of them, the confidence that they have when they stand up in front of the room the first time versus when they stand up in the room, right, the 10th time they talk about their business and the accomplishments that they've done. Would you say that you have like a great sense of confidence? I would say that I...

At this point of my life, yes. I love that. Because you never... It took time. Right. Because I feel like people will talk about, especially, you know, in your position, it's like some people will say like, no, I still, you know, I still question myself. But I think it's so great to be so confident in yourself. Yeah. I mean, what you have to do, though, with that said, is make sure that you're open to listen. The one thing I do say on campus all the time is...

I want to be wrong. So please tell me if I'm wrong. We make these funny little burrito bets on campus and stuff and like please get up in front of the room and tell everybody if I'm wrong, I'm happy to be wrong. Don't predetermine something before it happens. So even if you have confidence you can't have that,

be the dictator of whether or not you're right in a situation. That's the most important piece. That's a false sense of confidence. Yes, exactly. Exactly. But I think there's probably a lot of people, unfortunately, who may experience that. Right. Because being wrong can be a good thing. And that means that you're open to growing and changing. And if you don't grow and change...

How do we get better? If you're always right, you're never going to learn anything. Well, plus, and if you've made a mistake, the best thing you can do is own it fast and move on. Right. Right. If you're sticking to it just to prove to stick to it, you can find yourself down a really bad road. I also think that makes somebody a great leader as well and relatable. It's like you can look up to somebody who can be like, oh, I made a mistake. It's like, well, we all do. So we can relate to that. Exactly. You're human, just like everybody else. Yeah. Definitely. I mean...

We see the leadership. It's been so great. We see how the culture has changed. But I think also making great business moves and having making those decisions. Right. You know, it's great clothing. It's high quality. It's at a great price point. And you're also working with, you know, these collaborations that are so popular to people. And I mean, I just think because I have literally every single item of Eagles clothing.

merch that you guys have made together and the NFL has got to be one of the hardest entities to work with or collaborate with why was that partnership important?

So all partnerships are important if they represent the life moments of our customer. And we just knew that it was something very, very important to our consumer. But we started small. So we started this partnership three years ago with, I think, maybe half a dozen teams to just test and learn. And that's a test and learn for us as well as it was for them. Then last year, we got all 32 teams, which was fantastic.

pretty incredible. And this year, not only do we have the 32 teams, but we have expanded categories. I mean, just like the sweater that you're wearing today, we also now have outerwear and hats. We just started off with T-shirts and fleece. So the expansion of that's been pretty incredible too. Yeah, it is. I got to say, it's one of the coolest things. I think anybody that has worked in clothing or is a fan of teams, you know, that's...

When you get the actual team branded things and you have the team's approval to wear it, it's big. And I feel like, you know, up until a couple of years ago as well, we talked about, you know, sports like merch and collections at stores. Yeah, cute stuff for the female audience. Yeah, for women where, you know, everybody would make things that are pink, right? And it's like, oh, that's the female sports merch. And it's like, we don't want that. Yes, we love pink, but we want

to wear something that's cute that has the team colors like a women's jersey they all make pink they all make a big pink dress they used to be pink with silver glitter as everyone was like we want to have the colors of the team but we want it to be cute and that's exactly what you guys have done yeah well yeah thank you for that i thank the team for that it's it's we're so excited about it um

We are obviously a massive pop culture show. We know your daughter is a pop culture super fan as well. She's in the room with us. So I'm sure she's keeping you up to date on what's going on and you see everything that she does so that keeps you informed as well. What's anything going on right now that you have been following along to or you're excited about? She's like, Abby's like, I'm watching this. You know the answer. You know the answer.

From a pop culture perspective, let's see. Where do we start? You're a busy woman. I mean, it was great. I'm a big tennis fan. I mean, watching the Open and seeing everybody that was there yesterday cheering everybody on was very, very cool. You kind of think to yourself, you know, when you see some of those athletes there and you're like...

Do they judge how big an athlete they are versus some of the other people, right? I mean, these tennis players out there for three, four, five hours, it's just incredible what they do. So love sports, love fashion, obviously, always...

watching things like... So the U.S. Open's a good collaboration. Yeah, what about New York Fashion Week? Have you kept your eye on New York Fashion Week? I have. My daughter and I actually play this game whenever we do the Met Gala and stuff, and you see the pictures. We try to guess what they're wearing before we actually see what they're wearing, so we always do that. From a reality TV show, I mean, I get a kick out of some of the

real estate shows. I just watched Owning Manhattan. Yeah. Selling Sunset. So did we. Yeah, okay. Selling Sunset and those outfits. I mean, you watch it for the, I don't know whether you watch it more to see like the

Houses are the outfits. Right. That's what I said today. I was talking about it today that, you know, they just had a new season come out and they're not fighting over real estate. They're fighting over one of them wearing like the Miu Miu diaper to a broker's open and having it be inappropriate. Yeah. I mean, it's also the fakest show of all time. Yeah, but that's why it's good. I know...

Abby does a lot for like the Real Housewives stuff. Do you watch those shows with her or is that harder to break into? That's a little harder. Yes, that's a little harder for me to break into. We each have to have our, you know, we each have to have our own path to certain things and that is, that's her path. So did you watch the whiteboard videos tell you what's going on today? Yes. I mean, this has been so great. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for coming in and talking to us. I mean, we, like we said, we cannot rave about it enough. We've loved working with you guys and,

And I think you have shown us that you can kind of like flip a company that we all everyone had their ideas and completely change it and bring it into, you know, this whole new generation of young men and women. And it's really great. Well, I want to thank both of you for your incredible, incredible support and all of your listeners as well. It's just it's.

It's very heartwarming to know when it resonates and you can see the love and the passion that people feel for your brand. It means a tremendous amount to me and to the team as well. Thank you so much, friend. It really means a lot. The fact that we got to meet you in Columbus and that you came here and took time with us today really means the world. So thank you so much. You're very welcome. Thanks, you guys.

All right, that wraps up today's episode of Chicks in the Office. Thank you so much for watching and listening. We love you guys so very much. And we will talk to you on Friday.