Ruehl: A&F's hip new retail concept

DSN Retailing Today, Sept 20, 2004 by Emily Scardino

PARAMUS, N.J. -- Abercrombie & Fitch Co. introduced a new retail concept, Ruehl, to cater to graduates of its collegiate fashions. While Abercrombie & Fitch caters to the 18- to 22-year-old, attracting a faithful male and female customer base, and the company's newer division, Hollister, has developed a loyal following among high-school aged students of the California surf lifestyle, there hasn't been a division to maintain the interest of diploma-wielding adults--until now.

"Ruehl targets a 22 to 30-year-old customer and is the fantasy of what it's like to graduate college and go to New York and make it. It's the New York fantasy," said Mike Jeffries, chairman and ceo of Abercrombie & Fitch, as he gave the press a tour of the new unit that recently opened in the Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, N.J., a floor above a new Louis Vuitton store under construction. Other locations include Woodfield Mall in Chicago and the first store that opened the weekend before Labor Day in Tampa, Fla. By holiday, a fourth unit will open its doors in a Detroit mall. Stores will average 8,000 square feet to 9,000 square feet of selling space. Eventually, Jeffries anticipates that the chain could expand to 250 to 300 stores.

Jeffries, a tanned tow-head who looks like he could have modeled for Abercrombie & Fitch during his formative years, put years of effort into conceptualizing Ruehl. He repeatedly referred to the concept as "the movie," a complex storyline that he and his company put together to support this new lifestyle brand. While rather esoteric, this method of brand development is certainly of interest, having proven successful for the company's other divisions.

The plot of the movie is thus: a German immigrant moved to the United States circa 1850 and opened a fine leather goods shop that stayed in his family for generations. His great grandson, 100 years later, decided to enter the apparel business, focusing on denim and inspired by screen idol James Dean. This lived-in space, with an emphasis on handbags and jeanswear, is the result.

Though this story is not spelled out for customers who enter Ruehl, it helps tie the various elements of the space and product together into a prefab lifestyle concept that is ready for business. The entryway looks like a brick house in New York City's Greenwich Village, complete with a wrought iron gate, antique glass windows and flower boxes. Without a prominent sign, it has a dark, mysterious presence in the mall. The address is posted: Ruehl, No. 925 Greenwich Street, N.Y.

The interior carries the theme through, with the feeling of a vintage pad. Exposed ceilings and dim lighting add a vintage look to the store design. It resembles a brownstone, with a faux fireplace and dark wooden flooring. Bookshelves feature vintage books available for purchase that are associated with The Big Apple. Titles include "Nightstalker" and a tome on Andy Warhol, and include some signed original editions. Black-and-white lifestyle shots of young men and women modeling Ruehl fashions are scattered about the store, including the central hallway, where they are stacked along the floor, hinged so customers can shuffle through them. The house's address, "No. 925" is echoed throughout the store design, including on the garments themselves. Along with the aforementioned books and CDs, magazines and newspapers including The New York Times and the New York Post are available for purchase.

Even though the chain is for young, working adults, "the business is 100% casual," Jeffries noted. He wants Ruehl to be positioned as a "jeans expert" with premium-quality product. All of the denim is Japanese, and one particular style, available in men's and women's at $148--the priciest model in the collection--is hand-treated with what resemble vintage ink stains.

Giving customers a unique collectible value, signed and numbered T-shirts by artist Eric Lebofsky, featuring screens from his "Ink on Paper" designs, are available for purchase for about $50 in the back of the store. New artists' works will rotate in on a monthly basis near the cash check, "where, hopefully, people are feeling comfortable enough in our 'house' that they will spend some money," joked Jeffries.

The merchandise will cycle in weekly, with four major seasonal line rollouts per year. Denim is the clear dominator of the assortment.

The front of the store features a broad array of high-quality private label leather handbags (remember the back story), the costliest of which come in at an aspirational $898. However, the line for the most part, "is priced on par with Coach's price points," said Jeffries. Other items vary in price from $30 to $40 T-shirts to medium-gauge cashmere men's sweaters at $148.

The women's assortment includes a range of lace-and-velvet-trimmed lingerie and sleepwear in which bras come in at $38. Jeffries noted the continued importance of sex in selling merchandise, a factor that has been key in Abercrombie & Fitch's long-term success. While jeanswear rules the floor, there are some dressier items, including lace camisoles and a tie-front velvet blazer, which could easily translate into office-appropriate looks.