Reiss was founded in 1971 by David Reiss, originally selling men’s suits. Since 2000, Reiss began to sell womenswear. Products lie at the heart of the retailer’s strategy as it seeks to embody David Reiss’ belief in timelessness rather than fast fashion. All clothing is own label and not overtly branded. The retailer is run in a similar way to designer fashion houses, with an in-house atelier at its central London headquarters and 20 in-house designers. Its focus is on good quality wardrobe staples with a slight design quirk. Prices can reach up to £1,500 for womenswear items, placing Reiss at the top end of the high street market. In the UK, Reiss operates around 20 concessions, mostly in John Lewis, as well as around 60 standalone stores. It is focusing on international growth, opening 40 new points of sale worldwide in the past year. It recently opened 12 concessions in Nordstrom stores in the US.
Tesco boss Dave Lewis and Ocado chief executive Tim Steiner were among the winners of the Retail Week Awards 2020 sponsored by Salesforce.
Reiss has reported soaring profits and sales for the last financial year, in what the brand described as its “strongest” set of results in its history.
Reiss has posted a jump in Christmas sales as its private equity owner Warburg Pincus seeks a buyer for the chain.
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Fashion retailer Reiss has reported a surge in first-half sales.
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