The New Brooks Brothers

[dieworkwear]

BB always run aggressive post season sale from memory

This is relatively recent and has gotten worse with time.

In the 90s, they held a big sale after New Years and it was the only time they allowed oxford cloth button-downs to be included. That was the one sale a year for OCBDs. The discount was something like a measly 15% off.

In the late aughts, they had two end-of-season sales per year, two mid-season sales per year, and a special sale for cardholders. OCBDs were often excluded. Discounts were about 25% for mid-season, with a 15% kicker on the first day of the sale or for cardholders.

Nowadays, they send out maybe four emails per week about sales. Four shirts for $200 is the norm. OCBDs are often included. Discounts are commonly 50%.

 

[clee1982]

I mean since March they have been running sales, that is not normal, but I thought they used to run post Christmas sales all the time until end Jan/early Feb (same thing with RL, but RL wouldn't send you an new email everyday but with different item have discount then sometimes higher sometimes lower)?

edit: ok compare to that time frame sure, I thought the guy's question is specifically regard to post bankruptcy, just feel like they have been doing that since 2009?

edit2: and speaking of discount, I remember my first "work-shirt" from BB, was 3 shirt for $169, think they were non-iron, back in 2007?

 

[classicalthunde]

In the late aughts, they had two end-of-season sales per year, two mid-season sales per year, and a special sale for cardholders. OCBDs were often excluded. Discounts were about 25% for mid-season, with a 15% kicker on the first day of the sale or for cardholders.

yea, this is what I remembered

I'm curious if this will be their long term strategy, or just one to stay afloat and move old inventory until they get their new items out there and update their brand to whatever it might be in the future

I'm no expert, but didn't J. Crew try/popularize this constant sale model to no avail a couple of years ago? I'm a value-oriented shopper, and I don't necessarily mind buying high priced items if I think that they're worth it...but the constant sale model makes me wonder who would ever buy from them at full price then

 

[clee1982]

Feels like it's one of the used to be mid tier women brand that just went down tier start first (Banana Republic / Ann Taylor etc.)?

 

[dieworkwear]

yea, this is what I remembered

I'm curious if this will be their long term strategy, or just one to stay afloat and move old inventory until they get their new items out there and update their brand to whatever it might be in the future

I'm no expert, but didn't J. Crew try/popularize this constant sale model to no avail a couple of years ago? I'm a value-oriented shopper, and I don't necessarily mind buying high priced items if I think that they're worth it...but the constant sale model makes me wonder who would ever buy from them at full price then

No one moves to this model willingly. They do it because they're forced to for the short term. J. Crew didn't try to popularize this model, they were pressured into it. Same with Brooks Brothers. With too much real estate, lagging sales, unsold inventory, empty stores, etc. they've had to draw customers in with discounts. And then those customers become accustomed to shopping on sales and never buy at full price again.

 

[pendragon]

...And then those customers become accustomed to shopping on sales and never buy at full price again.

That would be the entire US population then.

 

[clee1982]

wonder how much it's because 2008 though, there were very few brand who could survive 2008 without discounting heavily, and the mentality was to survive first think about the future later then I assume

 

[dauster]

...And then those customers become accustomed to shopping on sales and never buy at full price again.

That would be the entire US population then.

yup never paid full price for banana republic either with their credit card it's like they are almost paying me to shop there.

 

[dieworkwear]

...And then those customers become accustomed to shopping on sales and never buy at full price again.

That would be the entire US population then.

I think it's mostly the middle of the market. The lower end of the market survives on lower quality and volume. The higher end of the market has escaped the commodification problem. Hermes and Chanel never go on sale because they're not commodities. And even luxury brands at Mr. Porter only go on sale once a season, not 5x a season (or 5x a week like J. Crew and Brooks Brothers).

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

...And then those customers become accustomed to shopping on sales and never buy at full price again.

That would be the entire US populationall of StyleForum then.

FTFY

 

[Norwester]

It's interesting to note that there was no mention (that I saw) of Brooks Brothers in the coverage of fashion at the inauguration yesterday. On the other hand, Ralph Lauren had a considerable presence, in addition to several less famous New York designers. No doubt there were plenty of BB suits in the crowd, and I think that President Biden wore a BB tie for the evening gala (at least I associate the way the stripes slope with BB), but Ralph Lauren seems to have taken over for the day as the quintessential American designer.

 

[clee1982]

I always thought as far as global image goes RL was the quintessential American designer, as a kid I have never heard of BB in Taiwan (we were less rich then for sure, understanding for example BB is more prominent in say Japan).

 

[Viral]

It's interesting to note that there was no mention (that I saw) of Brooks Brothers in the coverage of fashion at the inauguration yesterday. On the other hand, Ralph Lauren had a considerable presence, in addition to several less famous New York designers. No doubt there were plenty of BB suits in the crowd, and I think that President Biden wore a BB tie for the evening gala (at least I associate the way the stripes slope with BB), but Ralph Lauren seems to have taken over for the day as the quintessential American designer.

Are you saying that the wardrobes and designers for the same were announced at the inauguration? If so, wouldn’t that be odd?

if not, how do you know who was wearing what designer?

 

[dieworkwear]

I don't think suit labels are usually mentioned for anyone except the President. And in this case, it sounds like Biden wore RL.

 

[Nobilis Animus]

I didn't even know they covered fashion at inaugurations. Sounds wild.

Here's something I've pondered about places like Brooks Brothers, et al.: if they are often forced into sale models as a result of lacking customers, why is it that more expensive retailers never seem to have this problem? @dieworkwear mentioned what is essentially the commoditization of lower-end clothing. I think this can be explained by the fact that places like Brooks Brothers are no longer offering what people (with disposable income) want, and when those same people need the things places like Brooks Brothers are offering, they have little incentive to patronise those stores over others. So they have to compete on price, and their stuff becomes interchangeable.

The issue, then, is that those stores have lost their initial appeal. Chanel and Hermes have so much appeal that they have more knock-offs than actual clothing worn. Perhaps that opportunity to capture people's imagination and desire is fleeting, and once the moment's passed, it never returns.

The same cannot be said for annual sales!