There is a gorgeous texture to this A/W 09, Reiss cardigan. This is one of my favour pieces from this collection.

I love these KG by Kurt Geiger shoes but a bit pricey at £170! however there is a 25% sale at KG online at the moment so check it out!

Reiss’s website is very commercial and is obviously directed at a more youthful market that Aquascutum. The website is very easy to use and you can shop online, each different garment is sub-categorised to make the process of shopping online easier and less stressful. The website doesn’t give any history of the company and doesn’t portray as such a strong Brand identity as Aquascutum does.

www.Reiss.co.uk

Aquascutum has a fantastic, informative website. It makes it obvious that they have a strong, British, brand identity. The website design follows the company’s sophisticated, classic characteristics. The web page has some very strong imagery which makes the brand seam even more desirable.
A strong part of the website is the in-depth history of Aquascutum; it’s really interesting to read and is supported by some exciting photographs. However you can’t buy online and even if you wanted to they don’t give any prices. However I suppose if you can afford Aquascutum clothing, price doesn’t really matter! They used to have some stunning illustrations of trench coats but sadly they have been removed!
Visit their website at,

www.aquascutum.com

Reiss has introduced a edgier sub- brand, 1971 Reiss, which is named after the year Reiss was launched. The collection is directed at a more youthful age group than their average customer.


Reiss 1971 womens, feather Tank Top, £69




Reiss 1971 mens, Langton boots,£169

I love these stunning images by Aquascutum for their A/W advertising Campaign. The pictures look really British with a Bohemian edge and are shot in London’s Trafalgar Square.

Next was Aquascutum.....



In the Half an Hour I people watched outside Aquascutum,
there were 8 customers
and 2 of them came out with bags.

I think that half of the customers I counted were people like me, with no intention of buying but just fancied a bit of a look!

There were two smartly dressed, 55 year old-ish, ladies that entered the shop together and the last two customers were smartly dressed, suited men, who went in separately.

As I waited I saw two men come out with carrier bags (my guess is that they were Christmas presents.) However these weren't the same men as I saw entering the shop. I have concluded that customers who shop in Aquascutum generally are in the store for a considerable amount of time and a purchase is made after deep consideration as many of the clothes are staple pieces that are very expensive.

People Watching

So, on my next visit I decided to do a bit of a survey. For half an hour on Saturday between 2 and 3, I stood outside each shop and counted the number of people going in and out of the stores. I took a note of how the customers dressed and if they came out with a Reiss bag, so therefore did Reiss make a sale. Felt a bit like a stalker, weirdo, but O well!

I started with Reiss....



There was a grand total of 19 customers in the half hour
I spotted only 5 Reiss carrier Bags.

The customer ages differed greatly, the youngest being around 25 and the eldest about 55-60. They mainly entered in twos, either two women or a man and a women. The younger shoppers tended to be quite fashionable and stylish where as the older shoppers were just quite smart. However it was quite hard to tell as everyone was wearing big winter coats.

Aquascutum Womenswear S/S 2009

On my second visit to Aquascutum I spoke to one of the sales assistants who gave me a guided to tour of the shop and answered some questions. He spoke to me about how the majority of the sales within the men’s wear department are with Personal tailoring; this is one step down from bespoke.
Aquascutum generally don’t make many sales per day but with an average sale of around £1000, I guess you don’t have to!

Aquascutum has recently introduced a 1960’s inspired men’s wear range, designed by Saville Rows, Nick Hart. This collection focus’s on a slim fit style and is marketed at a more youthful age group.
Aquascutum dresses many famous celebrities including David Beckham, Daniel Craig, Mark Ronson; pictures of these celebrities are framed on the stores staircase which I found really interesting! Recently Aquascutum has suited the cast of Slum Dog Millionaire for their premiere.

The second was a grey, woven, woollen top with gathered sleeves. It fastened with one small button at the back. When the top was on it was quite stiff and wasn’t very flattering, but felt soft and well made.

Fitting rooms

I tried on two garments whilst in the store. The first was a simple white shirt with long sleeves; it had a button placket covering the buttons down the centre of the shirt. There was no top stitching around the collar and the Shirt was made from 100% cotton and felt very luxorious to wear. It retailed at £110

Aquascutum Report

The entrance to the Aquascutum flagship store is very grand and is in a prime location on Regent Street opposite one of its main rivals, Burberry.

The main doors leading into Aquascutum are automatic giving an instant feeling of luxury. My immediate response when entering the shop was that the visual merchandising wasn’t very strong but perhaps this is to target an older market with simpler tastes. The interior is mainly wooden with a few glass tables displaying gloves and scarves.

The shop assistants looked incredible smart in suits and were surprisingly inviting as I walked through the shop floor. There was no music playing on my visit to the shop, this again maybe to appeal to an older market.

The clothes were displayed in low stock densities, approximately 4 of the same items per rail, however with the more avant-garde pieces there were only one or two of the same garment on a rail, the low stock density makes the garments appear more desirable.
There were more coats and trench coats in the store than any other garment and
the hangers were wooden with the Aquascutum logo printed in the centre.



Aquascutum, Womens wear, London, Autumn / Winter, 2009

The ground floor was women’s wear, it was large but an unusual shape, the shop seamed to fork from the main floor into two separate areas. The first of the forked areas was overflowing with floor length trench coats in any imaginable colour. The second was similar to the main floor displaying jackets and trousers for an older female market.

The changing rooms were located in the centre of the forks. On the ground floor there were 4 changing rooms, each one had a cream carpet. The doors were wooden and tall with gold handles. Each changing room was like a small room in itself!
Outside the dressing rooms was a small table with coffee cups and champagne glass which I assume are for the higher paying customers to lure them in to spending more!



Aquascutum, Mens Wear, London, Autumn /Winter, 2009

Floor 1 and 2 are both for men’s wear. The wooden, sophisticated layout is similar to the ground floor.

Whilst wondering around the store I couldn’t find any garments for less than £250. I didn’t see a flowing colour palette throughout the store; this may have been because a lot of their products are staple pieces that rarely change from season to season.

Aquascutum provide an in store personal tailoring service. A personally tailored, two piece tailored suit, starts from £700. This service takes 5-6 weeks from the date of the first appointment, to be completed.

I visited the shop on a Thursday afternoon. There were three women and myself in the store. The women were all 50+, two of the women were being personally fitted for suit jackets at the time.



Aquascutum's Cochester factory,1969

The second garment was a wool mix, jersey knit cardigan with large, sequin detailing around the shoulders. This retailed at £95 and is hand wash only
As the lighting was so bad the images are really hard to see :(

I tried on two garments the first was a 100% silk, cream and black shirt. The shirt was well made and fitted well. It retailed at £110.

Reiss Report

The Regent Street Reiss is positioned in a prime location, near the Oxford Street intersection.

When entering Reiss for the first time it was obvious that they had strong visual merchandising. There was a fluid glass theme throughout the shop where the accessories were displayed; these glass selves surrounded the spiral staircase. The store is relatively small, the till points are on the right hand side as you walk in and the changing rooms are to the top right hand corner, easily accessible for customers.
Women’s wear is displayed on the ground floor where as men’s wear is found on the floor below.

The first thing that caught my eye when entering Reiss was a knee length yellow dress on a black mannequin which was positioned in front of the stair case, to lure potential customers in.

The shop was playing subtle music and was well lit making clothing clear and visible for potential customers.

Clothes were displayed in low stock densities with approximately 4 of the same garments per rail, this makes the clothing appear more exclusive; sizes 8-10 dominated the rails. I couldn't see any garments larger than a size 14 on display. All of the clothes were presented on wooden hangers with the Reiss logo printed in the middle of the wooden frames. The general colour palette was dark greys and blacks but with a few brighter autumn colours slotted in between.

On my first visit to the Regents Street store there were 3 customers in the shop excluding myself. This was a Wednesday afternoon which might explain why the numbers were quite low. The 3 female customers were all between 25 and 35, they were all dressed smartly in office style clothing.

There were 2 female shop assistants on the ground floor and one male assistant on the lower floor; they were all aged around 20-30. I felt that the two female shop assistants were not very inviting and as I was younger than their average customer, they followed my every movement which made me feel quite uncomfortable.

The two central changing rooms had mirrored glass doors, the third and forth changing room just had a curtain. Even though they had a light within the mirror, I felt that the lighting was very dark inside the changing rooms making it hard to see the details on the garments. The changing rooms were very cramped and I felt it was hard to get an accurate look at the clothing when wearing them.

Ron Mueck is a sculpture, I visited his exhibition in the British Museum earlier this year. I love how lifelike his work is, he often changes the scale of his sculptures to unusual sizes.

Aquascutum
Made in England

‘The great majority of Aquascutum outerwear is made in England at our Corby, Northamptonshire factory, underscoring the company’s support of the British Textile Industry and ensuring impeccable standards are maintained.

Made in England coats celebrate all the British Hallmarks of Aquascutum- attention to detail, traditional craftsmanship and authenticity

Aquascutum has made in England since the company was established in 1851’ -Aquascutum

Quick History of Reiss....

David Reiss opened the first Reiss store in 1971, originally selling men’s tailoring. By 2000 Reiss had diversified in to a complete range of men’s wear, women’s wear and accessories.

A Quick History of Aquascutum……

In 1853, Mayfair tailor, John Emary discovered how to produce a shower proof textile and made the name of his company Aquascutum - Aqua meaning water and scutum meaning shield.
These shower proof coats were in high demand by officers during the Crimean War for the duration of the bitter Russian winter.
In the 1st world war soldiers in the trenches had problems with the mud and rain clinging to their coats, this is when the first Trench Coats were introduced by Aquascutum. After the war the trench coat became a staple of any well respected Lady or Gentlemen’s wardrobe.
Since then the trench coat has been worn by many royals and celebrities. In 2005 designers Michael Herz and Graeme Fidler launched the first catwalk collection for Aquascutum.



Aquascutum Fall 2005

For my second choice of retailer I have decided to look at the higher end of the market, so I have chosen Aquascutum, their Flagship store, 100 Regents Street,

I have decided to carry out a shop report, focusing on two different retailers in different positions within the fashion market. Over the next few weeks I am going to be reporting my findings!

My first choice was Reiss, 172 Regent Street