Back in March, I proclaimed that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) was headed toward failure, due to its operating inefficiencies, shrinking margins, lack of pricing power and reckless international expansion. It appears that my forecast was fairly correct, and that industry peers, such as The Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS ) and even American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO ), could be better investments than Abercrombie in the retail apparel sector. A disastrous first quarter For its first quarter, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) reported a net loss of $0.09 per share, an improvement over a loss of $0.25 per share a year ago, but still fell short of the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate for a loss of $0.05. Revenue also slid 9% year-on-year to $838.8 million, which also missed the analyst forecast of $941.66 million. The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS), in comparison, reported a profit of $0.71 per share for its first quarter, up from $0.47 per share a year ago. Revenue rose 6.9% to $3.73 billion.