Somehow over the past 20 years they have now managed to make themselves just part of the retail slammer society...a commodity. They plaster the world with coupons claiming one-day only sales that seem to happen daily. Or special buy one suit and get 4 shirts, a sport coat, 3 pairs of slacks and 3 ties for free deals. Come on! They are just telling the world, yes, I am raping you for a huge margin on one item so I can sell a bunch of other crap and move product through my stores. Heres' the latest example from just this morning:
So let's look closer at the $99 Poplin Suit special. There ain't know way they can make a quality suit, get it to there store, pay their rent and salespeople, advertise and then sell the suit for $99 a make a profit. And they'll give you free shipping if you buy more than $195! The word we need to examine is quality. They are making the suits in some 3rd world country with super cut-rate labor.
I just don't get it. They took a high quality, attention to detail retailer and turned it into a hyper-mart of suits and shirts. Mr. Joseph Bank would be mortified and ashamed. I guarantee you this was not his vision and would probably take his name off the building!
Alright, now this is where all the folks that still buy from Banks tell me that I only wrote this concoction to talk you into buying custom garments from me. Well you're wrong! As most of you know, I was already ranting about the absurdity they've become. So please go ahead and buy from Banks if you like and when your shirts shrink and the collars don't lay down, or your suit just doesn't look new after 6 months, come see me. The least you can do is step it up and go see the Brothers at Brooks!
Sorry for the rant, but it just needed to be said!
Guess it's sorta the same thing that happened to the business model for Banana Republic and Abercrombie & Fitch - from clothing that would last you a lifetime even if that inclded trekking through the jungles to almost disposable clothing that might withstand a few months of metro living (if you don't wash it). I am still in search of a pair of khaki shorts that even come close the quality of my BR ghurka bermudas, circa 1983. ish
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see someone pointing out the lack of quality Jos A. Bank has been spitting out the last few years. I am in the drycleaning industry, and the Traveler's Collection shirts are my biggest headache. The button-hole side plackets shrink considerably and the collar buttons pull out of the material too easily. Its no wonder they give you a dozen shirts free when you purchase a pair of socks.
ReplyDeleteIt's very sad to go to Banks these days. I'm a fan from back in the late 70s from Baltimore. I have purchased at least a dozen suits over the years, but when I went to one of their stores over the weekend I just couldn't get over the poor quality. In the past, I have purchased the three-suits-for-one and been pleased. No more. The suits were just plain ugly and cheap looking/feeling. Sorry to see a good Baltimore icon lost.
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