Ruehl No.925 (marketed as " RUEHL No.925 "), or simply Ruehl (pronounced /ˈruːl/ , us dict: rōōl′ ), is an upscale American lifestyle brand by Abercrombie & Fitch Co. The concept is inspired by the artistic and cultural heritage of New York City's Greenwich Village and is meant to attract post-graduate individuals aged 22 through 35, retaining consumer basis past collegiate consumers for the A&F company. Ruehl retails high-grade business/casual apparel, leather goods, and lifestyle accessories through its stores and ruehl.com.
Citing the current economic environment, in June 2009 Abercrombie & Fitch announced it would close all 29 Ruehl locations by January 2010.
History
Fictional background
A fictional Ruehl family was invented by Abercrombie & Fitch to help tie together the elements of the Ruehl brand. Abercrombie & Fitch publicity material presents them as a family of German immigrants who started a leathergoods shop at the nonexistent address of 925 Greenwich Street in Greenwich Village. There exist no building numbers past the 800s on Greenwich Street and there are no records of an established Ruehl family in the Village. There is nothing very German about the name, in the same sense that sister brand Gilly Hicks is not Australian, although both claim to have roots to those cultures. The name "Ruehl" is a variation of the German last name "Ruhl."
Development
CEO and Chairman of Abercrombie & Fitch, Mike Jeffries, stated that Ruehl took years of planning, mainly for the store's atmosphere and image. From the start, the Company (A&F) was determined to keep their new brand concept veiled from public eyes. Retail analysts viewed this as peculiar. Not even retail landlords approached for space were told about the concept. John C. Shroder (COO of Westfield San Francisco Centre's U.S. operations) confessed that it was A&F's reputation which gave him the confidence to "sign up Ruehl sight-unseen."
Despite the secretive nature, rumors circulated about a "distinct departure" from the A&F style. It was evident that A&F sought to maintain consumers past ages 18 through 22. The concept was to venture out as more mature and sophisticated, all the while keeping it youthful. Encouraging studies revealed that 35-to-40-year-olds shop to look 25. The brand was privately unveiled to investors-only on "Investor Day" September 7, 2004. The presentation was at Westfield Garden State Plaza in New Jersey. At the introduction and press tour of the Westfield Garden State Plaza location, Jeffries noted that Ruehl is "the fantasy of what it's like to graduate from college and go to New York and make it. It's the New York fantasy." He also repeatedly referred to Ruehl as "the movie" because of its elaborate, flowing background.
Launch
Ruehl No.925 finally opened on September 24, 2004 with three locations. These were at Westfield Garden State Plaza (New Jersey), Woodfield Mall (Illinois), and the International Plaza (Florida). Designed to look and feel like Greenwich Village, Ruehl presented a new, "more sophisticated" lifestyle than other Abercrombie & Fitch brands. The store prototype of this time was a two-floor prototype measuring at 9,500 sq ft (880 m 2 ). Due to its structural form and size, locations capable of housing the prototype became hard to acquire.
Mike Jeffries did not launch an online store upon the opening of RUEHL. He wanted to attract customers to the stores to experience the Ruehl atmosphere. What was launched was a promotional website which gave store listings, previewed the private online policy, and allowed for email subscription to receive news on RUEHL.
Original prices upon opening were roughly 30% higher than at Abercrombie & Fitch (e.g. destroyed blue jeans $148.00 USD). Many consumers deemed this as too high for young professionals who normally begin their careers at fair incomes.
Post-opening
In June 2005, writer Alex Kuczynski published an article in The New York Times about her experience in the store at Westfield Garden State Plaza. She described the facade as "something provocative and different," and compared the store greeter to a "nightclub bouncer on the watch for good-looking customers." Kuczynski wrote that the store name conjures up actress Mercedes Ruehl and her hapless roles; "try as it might, the name just doesn't sound cool." She also criticized the lighting techniques, saying that "people at that age aspiring to the heights of sangfroid that Ruehl appears to promote would never deign to exert effort to find the right size, let alone spend 10 minutes squinting at a skirt to discern its color", a shame because "the clothing is worth the time and the money." She said prices were "reasonable", giving as an example $158 for the best-selling "destroyed" blue jeans.
In early 2007, RUEHL925.com became RUEHL.com and was upgraded as an Adobe Flash Player page. Also, to accommodate expansion, a new store prototype was developed measuring at 7,200 sq ft (670 m 2 ). This new prototype encompasses one sales level only, reducing construction costs and increasing opportunities to secure prime locations. A limited online store was finally launched on October 25, 2007. It sold fragrances and handbags in a limited quantity of styles. By the end of the year, in an effort to retain consumer basis, price points for Ruehl clothing were significantly lowered as so to create a minimal 10-15% difference between Abercrombie & Fitch and Ruehl No.925 clothing. A&F rose its jeans prices to make a $10 USD difference between its jeans and RUEHL's. January 30, 2008 marked the launch of the full online store.
Future closure of Ruehl
On June 17, 2009, Abercrombie & Fitch announced it would close all 29 Ruehl stores by the end of the fiscal year (January 2010)..
Mike Jeffries, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., said:
It has been a difficult decision to close RUEHL, a brand we continue to believe could have been successful in different circumstances. However, given the current economic environment, we believe it is in the best interests of the Company to focus its efforts and resources on the growth opportunities afforded by our other brands, particularly internationally. While I am disappointed with the ultimate outcome, I am grateful for the effort and commitment the Ruehl team has shown in developing and positioning that brand in the marketplace. In particular, the recent strides made in differentiating and elevating the Ruehl assortment make this an especially difficult decision. However, all of our brands will benefit from our experience and lessons learned with RUEHL.Many locations have been notified that their store will likely be closing in January 2010, shortly after the holiday season. Some locations are scheduled to be taken up by Abercrombie & Fitch underwear brand, Gilly Hicks.
Marketing and its resulting performance
Ruehl marketing photography has a blue color scheme and is more sophisticated than Abercrombie & Fitch. Noticeably, some imagery uses angles of Greenwich Village as a backdrop. Jeffries has made it clear that sex in marketing is a continual importance in Ruehl advertising. For that reason, Bruce Weber shoots all campaigns. He is most noted for his provocative and sexual, beefcake work with Calvin Klein underwear and A&F. Photography from RUEHL's early days evolved from sepia and dark green color schemes before settling on blue. High-profile models have appeared in Ruehl marketing campaigns, including Miranda Kerr and Kim Stolz.
The brand has used the appropriate slogan, "Visit us in the Village." Its main marketing logo "Ruehl / No.925 / Greenwich Street / New York" has been revised and replaced with "Ruehl / No.925 / Greenwich St / New York, NY". It mimics as an actual address. And unlike other A&F brands which rely on and owe their success to walking self-marketing in schools, Ruehl must follow more rigid advertisement techniques to make itself more known to the public.
Marketing techniques used on Ruehl have not benefited revenue expectations for the brand. The average RNY store generated sales of over ▲ $3.2 million USD in 2006. In comparison to Hollister's outstanding popularity and sales by 2004 (four years after its opening), revenue from Ruehl by 2008 has not been satisfying.
Ruehl branding and merchandise
The logo: Trubble
The official logo for Ruehl No.925 is the French bulldog Trubble. He is the little "inquisitive" bulldog
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