Brooks Brothers Bankruptcy Thread

[jrd617]

Deserves its own thread

Brooks Brothers, Hurt by Casual Fridays and Coronavirus, Files for Bankruptcy

Brooks Brothers, which dressed the American business class in pinstripes for more than 200 years, survived two world wars and the shift to casual dressing. But it was no match for the coronavirus pandemic.

www.wsj.com

 

[smittycl]

Storied apparel brand Brooks Brothers files for bankruptcy as it seeks a buyer and closes dozens of stores

The 202-year-old retailer has dressed U.S. presidents and countless investment bankers.

www.cnbc.com

 

[Viral]

Oh right.....everyone here is a CFO and can explain why this happened

 

[Phileas Fogg]

Deserves its own thread

Brooks Brothers, Hurt by Casual Fridays and Coronavirus, Files for Bankruptcy

Brooks Brothers, which dressed the American business class in pinstripes for more than 200 years, survived two world wars and the shift to casual dressing. But it was no match for the coronavirus pandemic.

www.wsj.com

I think it already has one:

Brooks Brothers Bankruptcy Thread

Deserves its own thread https://www.wsj.com/articles/brooks-brothers-hurt-by-casual-fridays-and-coronavirus-files-for-bankruptcy-11594210645?mod=e2tw

www.styleforum.net

 

[Torsion]

One of the saddest bits of news especially when it comes to classical menswear.

Brooks Brothers Goes Bust With Business Clothes Losing Favor

Brooks Brothers Group Inc. filed for bankruptcy, felled by the pandemic’s impact on clothing sales and its own heavy debt load.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[CollingsD2H]

Wow, didn't know the Luxottica family had their hands on Brooks Bros. I'm sure Luxottica has the cash to buy Brooks since they hold the monopoly in frame manufacturing, eyewear retail stores, optical insurance, on and on.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

I'm not a Brooks Brothers basher or hater. At the same time, the venerable retailer really does not have a hold a special place in my heart like some folks here feel. Most people might have some fond memory of their father taking them there for their first suit. My father is not from this country and he always tended toward Italian tailoring; my first suit was a Brioni when I didn't even know what Brioni was.

However, some of the things I'm reading in these articles are somewhat confusing. The current management/ownership blames a decline in formal business attire as one of the conditions leading to the current troubles. Fair enough, but walk into any BB store and see the volume of the square footage dedicated to formal business wear!

The overall styling really hasn't changed and with the exception of the now defunct Black Fleece line, which I actually found interesting and was a customer of, and Red Fleece, they have not really attempted to identify or target a new customer base. Year in and year out, season in and season out, BB has pretty much offered the same thing. I suppose one could say that they "know their customer" but when that pool is ever shrinking perhaps it's time to know different customers!

 

[clee1982]

I thought BBBF was interesting, but it would crater the same time as the rest of menswear go down, BB introduced Milano/Cambridge to its suit, I suppose they could be keep pushing and end up as higher end alternative to JCrew? Though SuitSupply is a challenge.

Hard to find the value proposition for BB for me. I always thought maybe BB at best (for mass, not for its loyal customer) could have been Boggi (yup, exactly italian department store), but then that would also fad post menswear peak I suppose (and also loose all its identity).

I suppose one way for BB to survive is just to shrink A LOT then be a niche Ivy/Trad proper?

 

[Phileas Fogg]

They do occupy an unusual place. If they try to go low end, they will be competing with suit supply, indochino, J Crew (assuming they’ll still be around). That would be a bit challenging and BB does not really excite and offer those more trendy cuts.

Try to go high end and it’s like climbing a hill. They will have to really retool and reboot with an aggressive campaign. Otherwise, they’ll end up the sartorial version of those citizen watches that go $7000! I mean, sure it might be a nice watch, but who’s going to pay that much for something that still says citizen.

 

[ter1413]

X-Post:

What is the Measure of a Good Company?

Brooks Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today, a move that has been anticipated by many for the past several months. There's a lot of sadness floating around on social media as Brooks is a beloved brand by many including myself. I have to say however my initial reaction to the ban

www.acontinuouslean.com

 

[Proleet]

X-Post:

What is the Measure of a Good Company?

Brooks Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today, a move that has been anticipated by many for the past several months. There's a lot of sadness floating around on social media as Brooks is a beloved brand by many including myself. I have to say however my initial reaction to the ban

www.acontinuouslean.com

absolutely love this. Fully agree with everything said there.

 

[Phileas Fogg]

absolutely love this. Fully agree with everything said there.

I think the comparison with the RL stores is a good one. Certainly there aren't as many RL stores as there are BB's and at some level the quality and price point far surpasses BB, but walking into a flagship RL store is truly an experience. I think this is the difference when the founder of the brand is still involved with the daily aspects of the business vs. one that has been around for as long as BB and has gone through various changes in ownership.

 

[comrade]

"The overall styling really hasn't changed and with the exception of the now defunct Black Fleece line, which I actually found interesting and was a customer of, and Red Fleece, they have not really attempted to identify or target a new customer base. Year in and year out, season in and season out, BB has pretty much offered the same thing. I suppose one could say that they "know their customer" but when that pool is ever shrinking perhaps it's time to know different customers!"

Not really. The overall styling HAS CHANGED. Brooks created natural shoulder, Ivy, Trad clothing
well over a century ago. It certainly has evolved over time but its' basic natural shoulder sack suit
continued until about a decade or so ago, then it began offering varied cuts for different tastes
and styles. The last few times I checked, they had nothing near the original cut. That market,
which has shrunk since the Ivy heyday has moved to the Andover Shop, O'Connells, Ben Silver,
J Press, Polo, Paul Stuart, Cable Car Clothiers, Sid Mashburn, etc. , all of whom owe their style
to the original BB..

 

[JFWR]

So, when can we expect sales? I want to pick up suits from BB before they go under.

 

[clee1982]

Paul Stuart and RL today doesn’t look very BB to me though. Also RLPL doesn’t make money it’s the rest of the line up sold in volume, so you could say BB has copied that model without an aspirational upper tier like RLPL (I guess Golden Fleece is suppose to be like that, but it just felt good quality but behind time)