Bespoke Saville Row-inspired tailors Gieves and Hawkes celebrated the 10-year anniversary of their Liverpool Metquarter store in style over the weekend, with an exclusive media event that showcased the very best the company has to offer.
The sophisticated label excels in providing high-quality suits and knitwear to its typically loyal professional clients but has also forged a new reputation for itself that also attracts customers wanting casual wear.
And to celebrate the success of its Liverpool branch, the upmarket brand invited guests to enjoy a unique grooming session, as well as a tour of the store.
Speaking to Click Liverpool during the anniversary celebrations, store manager Andreas Doukanaris was quick to attribute the G&H’s longevity to a new-found sense of adaptibility and desire to meet the needs of a fashion conscious Liverpool clientel.
He said: “We are a major global brand now, so we are trying to push sort of every corner of the world…something that fits in for everyone.
“I think Liverpool is very fashion-conscious. I find a lot of the Liverpudlians stick to certain brands and they won’t really change unless one of their friends unless one of their friends wear something and they seem to like it. That tends to happen a fair bit with us now.”
Unlike a number of its former Metquarter neighbours, Gieves and Hawkes has been fairly resistant to the changed economic circumstances precipitated by the financial crash, instead attempting to expand its usual constituency and engage with new markets.
Doukanaris insisted that this is, in part, because of the excellent service provided by staff at the store, who combine a personal touch with clear expertise: “The last few years everyone’s been a lot more careful with their money because of the economic climate but we now we’re finding lots more focus on the casual wear.
“The cheapest things are probably like £125-£150 so people who’ve never been in you want to give them that proper personal service- a cup of coffee or something stronger. There’s nowhere else in Liverpool where they’d get that type of service.
“The good thing for us is we’ve got a store in Chester but nothing in Manchester so we do get clients covering over from Manchester, Cheshire too just to see us. We do get barristers in from London as well.”
The Metquarter was bought by new London-based owners Queensberry Real Estate and Bywater Properties back in January and Gieves, who moved into a bigger unit just two years ago, hope the expected upturn in visitors to the centre could well lead to even further success in the future.
“The future for Gieves and Hawkes in Liverpool is bright. It’s been two years since we moved up here from a smaller location downstairs and things are just getting better and better. Bit of momentum behind us…obviously the range appears to a bigger clientel. Now there’s a bit of everything for everyone.” Doukanaris concluded.