Bedbugs Cause Abercrombie & Fitch to Close Second Store

Trendy clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) has discovered bedbugs in a second New York City store and closed it Friday. The company's shuttering of its South Street seaport store follows the closing of its Hollister flagship shop in the city's posh Soho district due to bedbugs.

Abercrombie & Fitch has appealed to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for help and guidance in dealing with the blood-sucking insects. City officials have said, "It is the responsibility of companies to handle bedbugs on their own," though the city's Health Department has offered guidance and assistance, according to AP.

Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch's teen-oriented chain, was closed for three days to deal with the bedbug infestation and reopened today. Many shoppers in the store today were not aware of its critter problem, while a few buyers who knew went anyway in hopes of insect-instigated bargains -- and were disappointed.

The company says "customers would be allowed to return purchases to the stores, where products will be properly quarantined before being sent back to Abercrombie & Fitch headquarters in New Albany, Ohio," reports The Wall Street Journal.