BRAND ANALYSIS FOUNDED BY DAVID REISS IN 1971
Reiss first opened in London, selling mens suits. Womenswear was in introduced in
2000, and
2005 the store became international having stores in New York and Dubai. In 2007, the Reiss in
launched a transactional website in the United Kingdom, and opened a flagship store in Los Angeles. Personal shopping became available in
2010 as well as personal tailoring in flagship stores.
Images from www.reissonline.com
Reiss has a design team of 18 people, and employ 1200 people in the UK. There are 100 Stores worldwide. The products are made in a family business factory in Romania, sharing the premises with Burbery, MaxMara and Jaeger.
The brand director, Andy Rogers, is behind the sub-brand, “Reiss 1971�, which celebrates the 40th anniversary since Reiss launched. It is aimed at midtwenty-year-old men and women at a lower cost than the main brand.
TARGET AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
Reiss caters for man and woman. The customer is likely to be a business person, with a high disposable income. They live in the city; London, New York, Dubai; aged between 25 and 45. The sub brand Reiss 1971 targets a younger age of men and women in their 20s, at a slightly lower price range. The Reiss customer wants to dress stylishly but stand out and be unique so does not follow catwalk trends directly. Their style is sophisticated.
Images from www.reissonline.com
PRODUCT ANALYSIS Reiss was initially a menswear brand, specialising in tailoring. In 2000, womenswear was introduced and in 2011 perfumes for him and her were introduced, marking the 40th anniversary of the brand.
Harvard White Shirt £95 Slim fit, curved hem Fine pleat detail on front 100% Cotton
Velvet blazer £235 100% Cotton On trend
Daria Clutch Bag £129 100% Resin Lined Gold chain shoulder strap Gold embossed plaque
Richmond T: Black Mixer Trouser £95 100% Wool
Godric Shoes £149 100% Leather Stitch detail
The size range for men is 36-46; or small, medium and large.
Ace Crystal Sandal £189 Snakeprint leather heel Crystal-encrusted straps
Verdia Bustier Dress £175 62% Viscose, 35% Polyamide, 3% Elastane Crossover hem V detail at neckline Boning structure
Fragrance: Black Oudh for him Grey Flower for her
Sizes range from 4-14.
The products have good attention to detail and are made from high quality materials and trimmings. This shows Reiss sells premium products.
Images from www.reissonline.com
CORPORATE IDENTITY ANALYSIS The store designs in West Broadway, Barret Street and Vigo Street reflects the brands image of classic, luxurious and expensive.
The sales assistants’ uniform is Reiss clothes, or a look which includes some Reiss clothes and other garments which have the ‘look’ of the brand. In the tailoring store, smart suits are uniform. Their age is 30-40 years.
Reiss collaborated with King&Partners to produce an iPhone app to allow customers to browse and purchase Reiss products online.
Reiss have a website and a journal which is available to read online or instore.
Images from www.reissonline.com
Image from www.kingandpatners.com
The packaging and swing tags are simple and high quality reflecting the brands character.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS Competitors of Reiss share the same target market: young men and women with high disposable income who want to look stylish and unique. All these brands claim to have this appearance.
Image from www.flickr.com/photos/tedbaker
Images from wwwhugoboss.co.uk
Image from frillr.com
Paul Smith is known for “finding inspiration in anything”. The brand also does not follow catwalk trends and is “English” and “eccentric”. The well known men’s suits are high quality and a similar price range to Reiss. Has sub-brands for Jeans, Shoes, Accessories and Fragrance.
Hugo Boss is a main competitor with Reiss as it targets the same market with a similar price range but a wider product range through sub-brands, and is international (in over 100 countries). They sell tailoring, premium sportswear, casualwear, eyewear, childrenswear and homeware.
ZARA is an international brand and has similar styles to Reiss: high quality women’s tailoring; simple and classic designs. Zara follows trends more closely and has a lower price range. Catwalk trends WWquickly appear in stores. The product turnaround is 4 weeks getting repeat visits from customers.
French Connection’s collection with the slogan “For man, for woman” is aimed at the same target market as Reiss’s mainline brand and appears more sophisticated than the previous FCUK designs, which target the same market as Reiss’s sub-brand, “Reiss 1971”, a younger customer and more casualwear.
Karen Millen is a womenswear only brand. Their idea of a “Karen Millen woman” is someone who is “confident”, looks “effortlessly stylish” and “wants to look great and stand out in a crowd”. This woman is the same as a “Reiss woman” who is “fashion forward” and “unique”.
Images from www.coloribus.com Images from www.zara.com
Image from www.karenmillen.com
Ted Baker is known for being “quirky” and having a “sense of humour”. Ted Baker has a wider product range including luggage, stationery, makeup, bath products, and eyewear. The brand originated and specialises in men’s shirts.
TREND ANALYSIS Reiss aims to have a unique style to satisfy its target customer, who wants to stand out from a crowd. Some styles are influenced from the catwalks:
TUX
Balmain
Jason wu
Haider Ackermann
Acne
Womens suits featured on many Fall 2011 catwalks. Reiss took inspiration and included glitter trousers in a suit similar to Balmain.
70s The 70’s theme was prominent in fall 2011 catwalks with printed dresses and floppy hats. These trends were seen throughout Reiss A/W 2011 collection in sophisticated style. Aquilano Rimondi
Just Cavalli
Tracy Reese
COLOUR BLOCKING
Giambattista Valli
Derek Lam
Jil Sander
Images from www.style.com
Images from www.reissonline.com
Reiss followed colour blocking trends from the catwalks, toning down the bright colours with dark or neutral shades to fit their style.
TREND ANALYSIS Reiss aims to have a unique style to satisfy its target customer, who wants to stand out from a crowd. Some styles are influenced from the catwalks:
DOUBLE BREASTED COAT
Louis Vuitton
D&G
John Varvatos
Reiss menswear A/W 2011/2012 featured neutral coloured double breasted coats and blazers following trends from D&G and other high end catwalks, simplifying the style to fit their ‘classic’ image.
HORIZONTAL STRIPES
Gant
Band of Outsiders
D&G
Reiss took inspiration from the catwalk for their stripe jumpers. Reiss used neutral colors in thin stripes as a variation in their style of D&G and Gant’s think bold stripe jumpers.
CABLE KNIT
Dirk Bikkembergs
Hermès
Simon Spurr
Images from www. www.gq-magazine.co.uk.
Hermès and Simon Spurr showed bright coloured variations, and Reiss translated this trend to their own style using neutral colours for a more classic look. Reiss also had many bright coloured knit sweaters in their fall 2011 collection.
Images from www.reissonline.com
Cable knit jumpers appeared over many fall 2011 catwalks.