Over the weekend I visited my old stomping ground of Stoke Newington and en route, at Victoria, I made a pit stop at House of Fraser to see what this troubled department store still had to offer.
The buzz you usually get on greeting the ground floor of premium department retailers was missing and I couldn't help but feel disappointed at the overall experience I had. Lacklustre seemed to be the customer service approach du jour I'm afraid and although I'm sure I too would feel the pressure with uncertain job prospects the customer certainly shouldn't be aware of it.
In the Beauty section I thought there may have been a Charlotte Tilbury offer, as her new Hollywood Flawless Filter has been lauded of late and its on my wish list. No such luck; John Lewis must have beat HOF to it!
It was no better on the ladies wear floor; sales associates clustered together, discussing fitting room cover so breaks could be allocated while daunted customers floated by. I even had to ask to pay as no tills were seemingly being manned and I was directed to the lingerie department.
The buzz you usually get on greeting the ground floor of premium department retailers was missing and I couldn't help but feel disappointed at the overall experience I had. Lacklustre seemed to be the customer service approach du jour I'm afraid and although I'm sure I too would feel the pressure with uncertain job prospects the customer certainly shouldn't be aware of it.
In the Beauty section I thought there may have been a Charlotte Tilbury offer, as her new Hollywood Flawless Filter has been lauded of late and its on my wish list. No such luck; John Lewis must have beat HOF to it!
It was no better on the ladies wear floor; sales associates clustered together, discussing fitting room cover so breaks could be allocated while daunted customers floated by. I even had to ask to pay as no tills were seemingly being manned and I was directed to the lingerie department.
 | I stopped at Maison de Nimes, HoF own brand inspired by Californian coastal living, launched in 2016. I bought this on trend straw bag, left, £40, as the handle was long enough to go over my shoulder, and the lining had pockets. However it's not available online which is surprising as it seems everything else is! Again I went to the shoe department to purchase it as no sales associate or till was manned in the vicinity. Also whilst markdowns were aplenty across all departments this was still full price. With 460 options available in that brand alone I can hazard a guess that one of the problems HoF face is the overwhelming stock offer. Just when Zara are putting short exclusive runs in store to create customer excitement HoF are sat on piles of slow moving stock. If you look online HoF have no fewer than 4,307 dresses to choose from.....,with 100s of brands. It's too much choice with no curation and far too much to peruse in one sitting; customers want answers to their styling quests not more options! |
The offer in store was also very pedestrian....no surprising brands that I hadn't heard of and very much a high street bricks and mortar offer; they certainly could do with a sprinkling of edgy young or up and coming labels. I actually thought their other own line 'Linea' looked considered and offered outfit building blocks. Maybe they should cull their ladies wear and concentrate on their own brands to create a point of difference.
Layout was traditional and samey and footfall seemed accidental with no known destination. The cafe looked like a second rate wedding venue, with a Cinderella type coach plonked in the middle, more Katie Price and Peter Andre nuptials than Fortnum and Mason; too try hard.... whatever happened to less is more?
Layout was traditional and samey and footfall seemed accidental with no known destination. The cafe looked like a second rate wedding venue, with a Cinderella type coach plonked in the middle, more Katie Price and Peter Andre nuptials than Fortnum and Mason; too try hard.... whatever happened to less is more?
HoF Victoria Tea Terrace
Whilst I understand that Victoria isn't necessarily a weekend shopping destination the HoF store should have been busier. However when other retailers concentrate on enhancing customer in store experiences, I wasn't at all excited by my visit, which is a shame.
With the highlight being the two HoF own line labels I've picked my top three items from the 'Linea' and "Maison De Nimes' ranges, below.
With the highlight being the two HoF own line labels I've picked my top three items from the 'Linea' and "Maison De Nimes' ranges, below.
'Linea' is good for work wear separates and 'Maison De Nimes' has some great items for a beach holiday. Whilst some items are already reduced it may be worth holding out for further markdowns, which I'm sure are imminent.
I hope HoF can sort out the issues they face and that another well established British retailer isn't going to be forced into administration. That said the future doesn't look too rosy and if my recent visit is anything to go by I won't be surprised if that will be the case.
Click on the links to shop, let me know what you love about HoF, and thanks for stopping by.
I hope HoF can sort out the issues they face and that another well established British retailer isn't going to be forced into administration. That said the future doesn't look too rosy and if my recent visit is anything to go by I won't be surprised if that will be the case.
Click on the links to shop, let me know what you love about HoF, and thanks for stopping by.
RSS Feed