The London Lounge

http://www.drapersonline.com/news/mensw ... 49.article

My favorite part is the reason of his leave:

According to reports, Brandelli wanted to continue to develop Kilgour’s ready-to-wear business, while JMH Group wanted to focus on bespoke tailoring.

He was forced to leave... because he didn't like bespoke!

Is the world turned upside down? (This time, for good.)

Andrey

Yes, I agree, I think this is good for Savile Row. I believe Brandelli wants to make himself the new designer star, interestingly, when he showed his collection in Paris, it was very well received. The new owners (I think from Middle East) should be applauded in my book to have the long foresight to focus on the bespoke part of the business rather than the RTW.

Brandelli started to lose me when he refused to wear black tie to an awards ceremony.

Brandelli claimed that, in his words, he just didn't get penguin suits.

That seemed to be, what do they call it? A bit of a face palm moment?
For a start the so called penguin suit is white tie, not black, and you have to question the style of a SR frontsman who doesn't like a well made dinner jacket.
I wonder if sales of black tie dropped at Kilgour after he dropped that clanger.

I never quite understood the animosity towards Brandelli as I never understood where many of the premises originated. The way I understand the saga is this. When Kilgour Stanbury and French were about to die, a group of their bespoke clients formed a company to inject capital and rescue the venerable house. That company was called KFS Group. A main component of the recovery and development strategy was to develop the RTW business by bringing a contemporary flavour to the offer rather than continuing the dusty old stuff offered through retailers like Barneys and Isetan. Brandelli was appointed to realise that strategic vision. He not only put Kilgour back on the map commercially but managed to enable the investors behind KFS to make a phenomenal return when they sold out to JMH. FWIW, unlike what Drapers reported, KFS did not sell Kilgour to JMH but the owners of KFS sold KFS and its subsidiary, viz., Kilgour, to JMH. BTW, JMH is registered in Dubai but the principal is not an Arab (JMH as in James M Hay); I just mention it because people seem fascinated enough about the Dubai connection that they always feel compelled to mention Dubai when referring to JMH.

Brandelli did exactly what he was drafted in to do, and then some. I wonder how one arrives at the conclusion that he left because he does not like bespoke. JMH, given the market environment, decided to reduce risk exposure and working capital requirements by concentrating on bespoke where there is no inventory risk. If the focus is now on bespoke, there is no need for a creative director like Brandelli. I don't know how Brandelli's sentiments about bespoke had anything to do with the departure. He was literally redundant.

I have never met Brandelli and am not a Kilgour customer. I have no horse in this race. My understanding is based solely on the gossip mill on the Row, so I am happy to be corrected. However, I am just a little puzzled why Brandelli provokes so much negativity.

Personally speaking, Brandelli didn't leave me foaming at the mouth.
In general I've much prefered his less is more RTW over Peter Johnston's RTW for Kilgour.
Which also wasn't too bad, but his cuffed sleaves and high pair buttoned waistcoats weren't quite my thing.
Perhaps his fashion mandates grated a little and some may have feared he'd become too successful and the bespoke might be lost in his seasonal fashion house.
I can only speak for myself, but I started to feel uncertain about some of his recent collections.
I liked most of it, but one was beginning to wish he had his own label rather than using Kilgour.

To clarify, I don't detest Brandelli, I was actually quite shocked the hear the news, because I thought he was doing so well, I've bought the RTW collection, although I don't really like the fact that they are made in the far east (i.e. China). The fact of the matter is, Brandelli is happy to sell British inspired wear that is made in cheaper countries, I don't quite like that, because he do charge the prices.

Anyway, I like him. What I like more is that someone out there, for whatever reason, is preserving the bespoke culture of Savile Row instead of going for the quick buck. I will imagine that revenue, earnings and ROE wise, RTW is still higher.

Shredder,

Thank you for the details on Brandelli's forced leave... very interesting.

But I indeed among those who detest Brandelli and his backers. Let me explain why.

shredder wrote:When Kilgour Stanbury and French were about to die, a group of their bespoke clients formed a company to inject capital and rescue the venerable house. That company was called KFS Group. A main component of the recovery and development strategy was to develop the RTW business by bringing a contemporary flavour to the offer rather than continuing the dusty old stuff offered through retailers like Barneys and Isetan. Brandelli was appointed to realise that strategic vision. He not only put Kilgour back on the map commercially but managed to enable the investors behind KFS to make a phenomenal return when they sold out to JMH.

So, a group of buyers decided to turn a venerable but money-losing bespoke house into a yet another money-earning fashion-driven RTW house.

Eventually they returned their investments with a nice premium.

GREAT!

For them... not for the Row, future of bespoke or Kilgour -- the way it was.

Does the world really need another RTW house churning out Chinese-made goods?

Hopefully new owners have another "vision" for Kilgour, more in line with its bespoke heritage.

Andrey

Detest is a rather strong word, Andrey. Would it have been better for the Row, and for your emotional well being, if Kilgour died off rather than being given a new lease on life by KFS?

What I fail to understand is that the venom seems all too personal. What seems to be a common trait amongst Brandelli's detractors is that none of them rushed to Kilgour to place orders in a bid to save the ailing house back then, and they are not rushing to Kilgour today to place orders in the joy of knowing that Kilgour is now focussing on bespoke. Furthermore, it seems that many such detractors bring absolutely no business to the Row, Kilgour or elsewhere.

I find it a bit odd and reminds me of the time when a journalist went up to one of the demonstrators protesting the imminent demise of Rover, the anticipated takeover by a Chinese company and the UK government's lack of a decisive action to save Rover:

Journalist: "So, you think that the government should do whatever it takes to leave Rover operating under British ownership?"
Protestor: "Yes, most certainly."
Journalist: "Right. So, what sort of car do you drive?"
Protestor: "A VW Golf."
Journalist: "Right..."

In comparison, the Advertising Standards Agency's ill-informed and misguided decision to allow the term 'bespoke' to be applied to characterise MTM products seems to attract little comment and even less emotion. In my view, this is a much more serious and emotive issue not just for the Row but the entire bespoke trade, even for those that offer both bespoke and MTM. ASA failed to understand the issue, and SRBA failed to shine in the most important and defining opportunity to prove their value as an organisation. But that's just my personal view.

s

In comparison, the Advertising Standards Agency's ill-informed and misguided decision to allow the term 'bespoke' to be applied to characterise MTM products seems to attract little comment and even less emotion. In my view, this is a much more serious and emotive issue not just for the Row but the entire bespoke trade, even for those that offer both bespoke and MTM. ASA failed to understand the issue, and SRBA failed to shine in the most important and defining opportunity to prove their value as an organisation. But that's just my personal view.

The advertising council would have had a tough time with the concept of bespoke under the best of circumstances. The word simply means “a custom order” in English and is not specific about the kind of manufacturing or processes to be used in completing the order. There are about 20,000 men on the planet who use the word they way we use the word and probably only a few thousand reside in the UK. That is hardly enough clout to sway government officials (without sacks of cash.)

Cheers

M Alden

Yes, just like sur mesure. Maybe grande, perhaps petite, but sur mesure nonetheless.

s

What I fail to understand is that the venom seems all too personal. What seems to be a common trait amongst Brandelli's detractors is that none of them rushed to Kilgour to place orders in a bid to save the ailing house back then, and they are not rushing to Kilgour today to place orders in the joy of knowing that Kilgour is now focussing on bespoke. Furthermore, it seems that many such detractors bring absolutely no business to the Row, Kilgour or elsewhere.

I couldn't agree more. We have debated elsewhere the pros and cons of the changing business models on the Row. The fact remains that most would have folded already were it not for their diversifying into RTW where the margins are appreciably higher.

shredder wrote:Furthermore, it seems that many such detractors bring absolutely no business to the Row, Kilgour or elsewhere.

Just wondering how do you know?

Do you have a tiny bit of factual data to support such a bold statement?

Andrey

Andrey,

It falls short of being a bold statement because I did not even pretend to know. I wonder how I made an impression to the contrary. We seem to be devoting quite a bit of disk space on addressing things that have not been said, but it is always interesting to observe a pattern developing.

The statement I made is quite explicit that it is not knowledge but an impression about some but not all members of the referred set of individuals. It is merely a hypothesis based on induction. It is not even a theory, only a hypothesis. The most vigorous criticism about people like Brandelli, Hart et al tend to come from people who cannot be characterised as the Row's stakeholder of any sort. The genuine stakeholders, such as the customers of the Row, tend to just get on with life. He has his cutter(s) and his commissions past, present and future. He tends not to get all wound up about what Boateng is doing because, whilst he might not like what Boateng is doing and might make a quip or two in passing, his requirements are sorted with whichever house(s) he patronises. In contrast, members of the peanut gallery can get wound up quite easily because the issue at hand does not gel with their opinions that were formed by reading books, articles and internet chatter about the Row.

Again, by induction, I am guessing that, based on your last post, you might be offering yourself up as a counterexample to my hypothesis. Now that I think that you may have a Rover or three parked out back, I wonder which models they might be.

cheers,
s

Shredder,



All,

Sorry for wasting your time for all this. I'm stopping here.

Andrey

Andrey,

I obviously don't speak for Shredder but my reading of his post was that he was making a bigger point. Kilgour were on the point of going bust and they were rescued by investors who, irrespective of one's views about their subsequent direction, were at least prepared to put up their own money and take the business forward. In that sense, the vast majority of us (whether SR customers or not) are really rather apathetic by comparison. If we disagree with the direction the business has taken, it is open to any of us to knock on the door, offer to buy the company, and set it back on what we might believe to be its proper course. Clearly most of us have no desire to do anything of the sort. It is fortunate for Kilgour that others were not of the same mind.

Sartorius