Turnbull & Asser

[ER]

I was walking down Old Broad Street today and see that Turnbull & Asser have taken a substantial unit on the site of the Old Stock Exchange, opposite Brooks Brothers. Supposedly opening in October.

ER

[Jordan Marc]

Rather bad timing for Turnbull & Asser, don't you think? With Wall Street coming apart at the seams, to whom is the shirtmaker going to sell? Gone or about to go are the hedgefunders, brokers, daytraders and customers who made killings in markets of the past. T&A already has a shop in midtown Manhattan. Why open a downtown branch when the economy is going to hell in a handcart?

JMB

[Guille]

I agree with Jordan Marc, it seems like the decision is quite out of place right now. Apart form the fact that many of their clients/potential clients will stop being clients/potential clients cause they won't be able to spend on them anymore, there is the fact that whoever is still able to purchase from them will not be so willing to do so because they will want to save their money for other matters and conform with their present wardrobes.

[sartorius]

Why open a downtown branch when the economy is going to hell in a handcart?

The timing is certainly not good but that may be down to bad luck rather than bad judgment. Taking premises in a prime location in any major city takes time - you have to find somewhere suitable, negotiate the lease, fit-out the interior etc. This can take years. It may look like a strange decision but I'm sure the company didn't expect the recent financial turmoil when it decided to go ahead.

[couch]

I'd also suppose that T&A does not need to do a huge volume of sales at any one location. While the current downturn will cost them some customers and cause others to scale back their purchases, I suspect that among those who would be likely to buy from them in fat times there will remain a number who will continue to buy in lean ones. The mid-1930s, after all, did not see the demise of elegant dressing among those who were not destitute, and Hollywood and Esquire/AA kept their images in front of the public as models for aspiration.

[Mark Seitelman]

I was walking down Old Broad Street today and see that Turnbull & Asser have taken a substantial unit on the site of the Old Stock Exchange, opposite Brooks Brothers. Supposedly opening in October.

ER

Are you talking about London?

The NY Stock Exchange is on Broad Street. I never heard of Old Broad Street. There is no Old Stock Exchange. Also, I work near Brooks Bros. Liberty Street location, and there is no suitable site near Brooks.

It doesn't sound like New York.

[andreyb]

According to UK version of T&A web-site, this is indeed a London location: http://80.168.52.54/city.html.

Andrey