Whether you consider it an assault on your senses or a literal breath of fresh air, you’ve probably noticed it if you’ve ever been in the vicinity of the Abercrombie & Fitch flagship store in Central.
In case you lack olfactory nerves, we’re talking about “Fierce”, the brand’s unmistakable signature scent that is pumped out of their Pedder Street store’s entrances.
We at Coconuts personally hold our breath when we’re near the store, lest we develop headaches. But to our surprise and horror, we discovered that some people actually slow their pace down as they walk in front of Abercrombie & Fitch, inhaling a lungful of fragrance and relishing the blast of cool air.
To find out what Hongkongers feel about the flood “Fierce”, we took to the streets and conducted an online poll.
Check out our video:
Here are the results the poll, which had more than 750 respondents:
But numbers don’t quite capture the fierce opinions of our Coconauts.
Here are our favourite positive ones:
“During the balmy summer evenings, walking in there and staying inside for five minutes before going to LKF can mask any sweaty stench you’ve developed.”
“It’s so much better than smelling garlicky people and their breaths”
“A smell so distracting and pungent that it’s able to temporarily numb the vivid smells of smog, body odour and pretentious banker through the tight seal of my face mask.”
“As long as Abercrombie keep blasting their sub-zero aircon outside I’m fine with it!”
“I always take a deep breath whenever I pass by :p”
And here are our favourite negative comments (which are slightly more colourful):
“Putrid smell that makes me wanna break two of my toes just so I can stick them in my nostrils.”
“I can smell it from a 500-metre radius and it makes me wonder why anyone would go into a store that smells so strong. I hold my breath for as long as I can and make a game of it by seeing how far I can get without smelling that stench.”
“It’s just absolutely a crime against humanity!”
“The overwhelming blast of cologne hurts my brain… maybe that’s their sales strategy. Otherwise why would anyone buy it?”
“It makes me want to vomit, be sick, spew, heave, retch, gag, puke, hurl, barf, upchuck, ralph!”
“Smells like a bro-ey frat house. Smells likes douchebags. Smells like the destruction of young kids’ sense of smell.”
“It smells like desperate teenage boy.”
“If someone took a masonry drill, turned it on, and put it up your nostril – that would be the equivalent of what the Abercrombie and Fitch smell does to my head.”
“Worse than durian. More offensive than Chau Dau Fu [stinky tofu]. Worse than any of our trash collection substations. At least these three examples serve the public good and are part of our shared culture and heritage. I can not believe that this does not violate some public ordinance.”
“Many years ago they outlawed stinky tofu on HK streets much to the dismay of citizens. A&F is 1,000 times more offensive than stinky tofu, I can’t imagine why the government doesn’t ban its stench too.”
“I’m sat at home typing this and I can smell it!”
In response to our inquiry, an Abercrombie & Fitch spokesperson said: “Our customers [sic] feedback is important to us and we will review this.”
Ball’s in your court, Abercrombie.
Photo: Iflwlou via Wikimedia Commons
