NEW YORK — Robert Graham, the luxury men’s wear brand, has been refreshed for fall with a more refined premium line and will launch an ad campaign today that is aimed at its current customers while hoping to reach younger men.
The brand’s fall collections — which span wovens, bottoms, knitwear, sport coats and accessories — use more luxurious fabrics, have updated silhouettes and details that are cleverly articulated on the inside. The company’s spring ad campaign was created and photographed by David Lipman and features model Alex Lundqvist.
In an interview with Andrew Berg, the 40-year-old president of Robert Graham, who joined the company eight months ago, he said his top priority was to “evolve the brand to show the end consumers and the retailers — and even ourselves — that we’re evolving with the times and reenergizing our customer base, while making sure we are speaking to a new customer.”
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In addition to redesigning the West 40th Street showroom here with its new aesthetic, the 16-year-old company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Differential Brands Group Inc., analyzed all customer touch points, including its web site, which is its biggest volume generator. The company generates $150 million in global volume, including licensed products.
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“We looked at our social media and made sure we were putting the imagery and the message through a different lens. We re-merchandised our stores [18 full-price and 12 outlets]. We pulled out a lot of product from the stores to make it more of a merchandised premium-lifestyle expression. We felt we were too cluttered in our own stores and weren’t telling a story,” said Berg, who was previously senior vice president of men’s wear at Theory.
Prior to Berg’s appointment, Graham’s business had stumbled. “The business over the last two years had hit a wall. [Business] was slowing up in our channels and also slowing up in specialty and department stores. We were too heavy in stock positions we were sitting in, and we had to make some quick decisions on how to give retailers some more confidence…and to get our own channels working,” he said.
Among Robert Graham’s top accounts are Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s, along with more than 500 specialty stores such as The Club in Carmel, Calif.; Patrick James, a multiunit west coast retailer; the Forum Group, and PGA green grass country club stores.
“The brand had become one dimensional,” added Berg, who explained that Robert Graham needed to become known for more than just the woven shirt with contrast collar and cuffs. “It became too stereotyped as the ‘going-out’ shirt or the ‘loud shirt,’ and the brand is so much more than that.”
They refer to their customers as “collectors,” (there are master collectors and founding collectors, for example) and had developed a cult following. In general, Graham targets a 45-year-old customer. “We’re big with the Baby Boomers today, and the goal is to capture the 30 to 45 year old,” he said.
For fall, they’ve strengthened what they have, such as offering shirt jackets in flannel and leather with silk linings; luxe sport coats, and top coats with silk linings. They are also offering a modern Americana category, which is a more tailored fit. Wholesale prices for the new fitted shirt range are $67. Overall, the sweet spot at Graham is wovens (60 percent of the business) wholesaling between $85 and $95. Wholesale prices are $275 to $375 for sport coats and outerwear, $80 to $90 for denim, $90 to $180 for classic knitwear and $400 for leather jackets.
The company also has a limited-edition product that wholesales from $180 to $230, which is manufactured in India and includes piecing, prints, embroidery overlays “and very special fabrics,” said Berg. Musicians and athletes have gravitated toward this group, including Ringo Starr, The Beach Boys, The Monkees and Cam Newton.
Robert Graham also offers the R collection, which is a higher end and halo collection, said Robert Stock, founder of Robert Graham. “It’s very subtle and the R collection is a lot tamer and the piece goods are really special and European,” he said. That collection, which features nuanced fabric details, traditional hand-tailoring and high-quality materials, was launched last fall.
The company does a robust Canadian business and is looking to expand overseas, in the Middle East, China and Russia. At present, Graham’s strongest domestic markets are Texas, Florida and Southern California. “I think that the expression of color and some of the styling has lent itself to the Southern market more,” he said. The company has freestanding stores in such cities as Palm Beach, Boca Raton and Sarasota, Fla.; Dallas; Houston; New York; San Antonio, and Venice, Calif.
Becoming a lifestyle brand is another priority. Licensed categories include fragrances (Batallure); leather goods, bags, wallets and belts (RGA); socks (British Apparel); suiting, dress shirts and ties (Shirt Avenue); underwear and loungewear (Majestic), and hats (Henschel Hat Co.). “We’re really looking to strengthen the categories we’re in. We’re talking about women’s. It’s been in and out of the portfolio for a number of years. Right now, it’s present in our stores. It’s about 5 percent of the business,” said Berg.
Last year, the company successfully launched its first trio of men’s fragrances — called Courage, Valour and Fortitude — exclusively with Bloomingdale’s. Graham’s film around the marketing of the fragrance won a gold Clio Award. Each of the fragrances retails for $295 and is packaged in a decanter, which also won a packaging award.
Turning to the new ad campaign, Berg explained, “The idea is we’re infusing a new energy into the brand. The guy that we’re showcasing feels youthful, without feeling young. He’s well styled head to toe and he’s believable in the clothes. There’s also a woman featured in the ads [Anouk Sanders]. It’s a little bit of a love story,” said Berg.
Lipman shot the ads in New York City. “He [Lundqvist] is a soulful guy who loves life. He loves speed, he loves collectibles, he loves cars and he looks exceptional in the clothes,” said Berg. Ads will appear on Graham’s social channels and web site, robertgraham.us.
Having watched the evolution of the Robert Graham man over the last 16 years, Russ Patrick, senior vice president and general merchandise manager of the Neiman Marcus Group LLC said, “We look forward to carrying the sophisticated apparel offerings in our doors and welcome the new generation collector to Neiman Marcus.”