It is a brand statement.įrom the huge glass facade to the light-filled, airy modern spaces of the design studios, boardroom and buying areas, this is an office that would befit a global luxury brand, not just a high street chain. Walking around the retailer’s headquarters in Barrett Street, central London, which it opened at the end of 2007 on the former site of the London College of Fashion, it is clear that this building is more than just a head office. This is a statement for the next 10 years about where we want to go.” The head office itself is like a stake in the sand. We want to do everything in-house, from the marketing to the website development. You have to protect your brand and not give it away. Rogers says: “We’ve looked at every part of the brand and the business to understand exactly what Reiss stands for, so we can develop its potential. Both David Reiss and Rogers are keen to make clear that the 1971 range is part of a much more comprehensive vision to develop the business into a truly global brand.
We are where we expected to be.” New recruitsĪndy Rogers, who joined the business as brand director from designer brand Stella McCartney last year, has played a key part in the creation of the new sub-brand. “We took a view that the first half of the year would be relatively soft and that the second half would be more normal, and that’s what we’ve found. “I can’t deny it’s been challenging,” he says. “If someone wants to spend £200 on a jacket, we want to make it look like a £500 jacket.”įor the year to January 31, 2008, sales at Reiss rose 18% to £67m but its operating profit fell to £8.8m from £9.8m, after investment in the UK and international infrastructure.ĭavid Reiss declines to talk specific figures for this year but acknowledges that the economic downturn has inevitably had an affect. “There are some lower price points with Reiss 1971 but there are also some higher, more luxury price points,” he says. But David Reiss rejects the idea that appealing to increasingly price-conscious shoppers in the recession was a motivation for the launch. Reiss 1971 will also provide some entry-price points lower than the mainline. We want to be cooler, edgier and provide a complete wardrobe.” Wholesaling the brand is being considered while standalone stores could also be on the cards.ĭavid Reiss says: “We were very strong in certain areas – we had great tailoring and great womenswear and dresses, for example, but we were not so good on daywear and some other areas. Aimed at a slightly younger customer than Reiss’s mainline, the range aims to bring an edgier, more youthful element to the product offer, and provide Reiss’s customers with its first significant denim range. The retailer’s latest development is the new Reiss 1971 sub-brand, which is set to launch this week. Today, Reiss’s drive and passion are still the force behind the 56-strong premium high street business that has carved a niche for itself with its individual, clean, design-led handwriting.
This business still had so much potential and I still had a strong vision of where I wanted to take the brand.” “I just woke up one morning and changed my mind,” he says.
He could have walked away £150 million richer, but something made him stop. About two-and-a-half years ago, David Reiss was in talks to sell the eponymous fashion chain he created 38 years ago to US fashion giant Liz Claiborne.
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