Retail giant Abercrombie & Fitch, bowing to increasing national pressure started by a local girls group, has agreed to stop selling several controversial T-shirts.

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In a statement released yesterday the company said: "We recognize that the shirts in question, while meant to be humorous, might be troubling to some."

Members of the Allegheny County Girls as Grantmakers program said the T-shirts with slogans like "Who Needs Brains When You Have These" were demeaning to young women and launched a "girlcott" Sunday against the controversial retailer. The protest garnered national media attention, including a segment on the "Today" show and huge public response.

"I think it's really amazing that a group of 20 girls between the ages of 13 and 16 can start and end this kind of movement in less than a week," said Emma Blackman-Mathis, co-chair of the grantmakers program, which is overseen by the Women's & Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania.

"We're actually very happy with how things have turned out," said Heather Arnet, the foundation's executive director. "This all started with a discussion with the girls about social change and how a small group can make a difference."

She said Abercrombie & Fitch was very responsive to the girlcott because it came from the company's customer base. "We're very proud with how they've handled it and how the girls have handled it," Ms. Arnet said.

Amitte Rosenfield, a sophomore at Allderdice High School in Squirrel Hill and a member of the grantmakers group, said the girlcott was important because young women must not think "it's OK to see them for their bodies, not their minds."

The next step for both sides is scheduling a time for members of the grantmakers program to visit the company's headquarters in New Albany, Ohio, to discuss developing apparel that can empower young women.

"One of our underlining goals for this movement was to actually show girls that they have a voice and that their voice and their dollars have significant value," Ms. Blackman-Mathis said.

The controversy surrounding the shirts is nothing new for Abercrombie & Fitch. The company continually walks a tightrope on the edge of fashion, fending off its retail competitors while thriving on media attention and controversy to remain in its coveted No. 1 position, retail merchandisers, industry analysts and advertisers say."This is really a tough competitive market and it is often difficult to stand out," said Alan Andreasen, a marketing professor at Georgetown University who specializes in consumer behavior and social marketing. "The problem is that it only works for a while and there tends to be a wear out in the long-term."

When the company released a line of shirts following the United States' unsuccessful attempt to garner a gold medal at the U.S. Olympics that read "L is for Loser" alongside a picture of a gymnast, U.S. gymnasts called for a boycott and the shirts were eventually pulled from stores.

In 2003, a catalog bearing pictures of scantily clad men and women caused an uproar that eventually led to the company's retraction of the catalog.

Yet while these instances drew media attention and galvanized groups of people against the company, registers still rang across the country. Last month, Abercrombie reported sales were up 41 percent from last year during the month of October.

Andrea Fitting, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh advertising agency Fitting Group, says Abercrombie's desperate grasp for market share and attention will eventually lead to a serious public backlash -- the key is when.

"It's hard to stay No. 1 when competition is always nipping at your heels," said Ms. Fitting. "So, for them it's this sexual stuff and the hope is this really is going to get people talking about you. But there is going to come a point when this is detrimental to sales because in the end people vote with their wallets and it's not just a few girls and women."