What is going on with The Rake's online store?

[LKittelb]

When I started getting in to menswear more seriously several years ago, the two online purveyors of a wide variety of high quality goods were Mr. Porter and The Rake. In the last year or so, The Rake has been reduced to a shell of what it once was, offering a very limited range of brands and products. Does anyone know what has happened?

I can't speak to what's going on with their magazine, I never was familiar with that part of the company, but the online store is pretty dismal these days... its quite sad.

 

[Jazzthief]

Bump to this thread. Their site has only a bunch of watches and a pair of sneakers available to purchase by now. Oddly enough, the different clothing categories are still there but empty. Have they decided to not sell clothing anymore and go forward with only the magazine?

 

[Aquafortis]

I've got an ongoing exchange going on with their customer service regarding the crazy delay in their delivery of the last issue (84) to the US which they claim is due to "an increase in orders"....right.

I just sent a follow up and also asked them about their online shop being gutted. Will post any info here once I hear back from them.

 

[Connemara]

I've got an ongoing exchange going on with their customer service regarding the crazy delay in their delivery of the last issue (84) to the US which they claim is due to "an increase in orders"....right.

I just sent a follow up and also asked them about their online shop being gutted. Will post any info here once I hear back from them.

I have asked the same question and received the same answer. This, combined with the vanishing of the online shop, is raising some red flags.

 

[Jay.C]

I finally see some of their products through the sales email. However, the catalog/ listing system seems to be broken. I can see a product from ABC brand, but there's no product when I go to the ABC brand page. Also, there's no much options and some doesn't have a proper pic of the product. Like a pic of model in a posture only showing a side and there's no way to see full details. I'm not sure if they really know what they are doing now.

 

[Aquafortis]

I have asked the same question and received the same answer. This, combined with the vanishing of the online shop, is raising some red flags.

I did get a response from the Rake and this was their verbatim reply to the question about the online store:

"We have temporarily reduced our e-commerce offering, as we prepare to bring you an improved luxury retail experience.

We look forward to sharing our new e-commerce platform with you in the coming weeks."

I will believe it when I see it.

 

[Knurt]

They thought they could sell clothes through the magazine, completely forgetting the lack of legitimacy coming with conflict of interest. A lose-lose situation.

 

[Jazzthief]

They thought they could sell clothes through the magazine, completely forgetting the lack of legitimacy coming with conflict of interest. A lose-lose situation.

What conflict of interests does that raise?

 

[Knurt]

What conflict of interests does that raise?

editorial content directly connected to Shop items. Two businesses, one proclaming to be insightful about clothes, the other selling exactly the same clothes covered in the magazine. For me the magazine lost all credibility as it was an extension of the clothing shop.

 

[Aquafortis]

editorial content directly connected to Shop items. Two businesses, one proclaiming to be insightful about clothes, the other selling exactly the same clothes covered in the magazine. For me the magazine lost all credibility as it was an extension of the clothing shop.

I never really viewed The Rake so much as "proclaiming to be insightful about clothes", but more about promoting a certain category of goods and associated lifestyle. Not so different from those who have Youtube channels or podcasts who talk about things they like, review/feature associated products (sometimes of their own "brand"), and provide links to those products in show notes. (Think of Teddy Baldassarre's watch reviews and burgeoning online biz).

From the get go, given the adverts that appeared in the Rake, it came as no surprise when they started running feature stories on VBC, Breguet, Bell & Ross, etc. (then came out with limited run exclusive Bell & Ross watch models). I don't think there was any duplicitous premise, and pretty obvious they were promoting certain makers who were throwing money at them to support the publication. No different from many other mags' business models really.

 

[Knurt]

They certainly proclaimed to be insightful on style, which means cut and appearance - very much what is meant by being insightful about clothes.

 

[Quarks]

I've got an ongoing exchange going on with their customer service regarding the crazy delay in their delivery of the last issue (84) to the US which they claim is due to "an increase in orders"....right.

I just sent a follow up and also asked them about their online shop being gutted. Will post any info here once I hear back from them.

Facing exactly same with issue 84. I am been waiting for more than 4 weeks now.
They said issues with demand and printing.
Their customer service is one of the worst.

 

[Aquafortis]

Facing exactly same with issue 84. I am been waiting for more than 4 weeks now.
They said issues with demand and printing.
Their customer service is one of the worst.

I've actually found their customer service reps reply to email inquires pretty quickly. Unfortunately in this most recent case regarding the delayed distribution of Issue 84 to the US, they don't have any good answers as to timeline.

 

[Connemara]

A customer service rep told me they are planning to bundle issues 84 and 85 for US customers. No timeline, though.

 

[Aquafortis]

A customer service rep told me they are planning to bundle issues 84 and 85 for US customers. No timeline, though.

Yup. I just received the same response from their rep today. I responded and asked them to extend my subscription by at least two issues. We'll see how that goes.