Abercrombie & Fitch is making headlines again. This time because, of all things, it made a $10-million donation to a Ohio hospital, and now the facility's new emergency room and trauma center will be named after the retailer.A coalition made up of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, pediatricians and Parents for Ethical Marketing is asking Nationwide Children's Hospital (named after a Nationwide Insurance donation) in Columbus to not use Abercrombie's name. The group is worried because of Abercrombie's controversial advertisements depicting scantily-clothed young people, which have had no lack of attention. An odd aside concerning this situation is that Abercrombie, which is based outside of Columbus in New Albany is not the only local retailer to make a donation to the hospital. New Albany-based Tween Brands' Limited Too and Justice chains will also be represented in a new lobby as a result of a donation that company made.We know, controversy is nothing new for Abercrombie, and it doesn't seem to impact sales. Net sales during its fourth quarter rose 8%, to just over $1.2 billion, and net income was up 9%, to $216.8 million.But will it hurt the company in the future? Or is there no such thing as bad publicity?
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