Gieves & Hawkes, No1 Savile Row, the best address
After reading the Times newspaper, it is sad to say that the Royal Tailor with the best address on No1. Savile Row; Gieves & Hawkes freehold flagship store has been sold to the parent Chinese group Wing Tai Properties for a whopping £8.5 million
According to Companies House reports Gieves & Hawkes made a loss £2.4 million at the year ending December 2010. Their turn-over was 15.6million as compared to the previous year of £16.6 million. This just basically means that they have made losses for at least two years in a row.
In addition this has led Gieves & Hawkes to close a further 8 concession stores 7 of which are in House of Fraser. Never-less the company still has 4 concessions in Harvey Nichol and Selfridges and there are still 10 stores dotted around.
The original founders were Gieves founded in 1785, and Hawkes founded in 1771. Gieves and Hawkes merged in the late 19th Century. The tailors started as suppliers to the British Army and Royal Navy. It makes bespoke suits for the Royal family such as Prince William and Prince Harry. Gieves & Hawkes are tailors that are not afraid to re-invent it-self. It was the first on Savile Row to make ready to wear suits. To this day 20% of its turnover is from making bespoke suits and the rest from ready to wear but that still has not saved it from the recession that started in 2008 as its brands continue to slowly diminish and fade in the ever challenging UK market.
So what will become of Gieves & Hawkes? Fear not, with my connections in Hong Kong, I managed to speak to an insider from Wing Tai group who does not wish to be named as this is sensitive times and they have re-assured me that apart from the usual cost cutting exercises i.e. closing concession stores, Gieves and Hawkes will continue to operate as normal in the UK but the plan is to increase presence in the Far-East Asian Markets.
I have been told that there is a growing trend of forgotten and diminishing Western brands that are being dusted and brought back to life in these Asian countries, especially brands that are more than 100 years old with great history and heritage. In the Asian market there is a great respect for brands with rich history especially ones with connections to the royal families. Asians love their brands more than any other country that is why the top leading fashion houses such as Gucci and Burberry are growing exponentially in the Asian markets, even in these difficult times. For the ever growing middle class some of these brands maybe out of reach which leaves opportunities for lesser known brands such as Gieves & Hawkes with their rich history and royal connections to cover the gap.
One example I can think of is Aquascutum founded in 1885 and famous for their trench coats. They fizzled out of late and were taken over by a Honk Kong company in 2009 and now have dozens of stores all over Asia keeping the Aquascutum brand going.
I guess to some extent without these takeovers from Asian Groups these brands may just disappear altogether. My next question is which one of the established Savile Row tailors will be next?
Why not come down Savile Row to discuss this further and at the same time book an appointment for a fully bespoke suit at our Savile Row Fitting room.
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