If you follow my timeline on Instagram – or even Twitter – then you’ll already know that Fenwick Bond Street is my favourite London store. I’m there at least twice a week… sometimes more (for meetings in their 2nd floor restaurant – not actually shopping, although there is almost always a purchase!) so I’ve watched the miraculous transformation of the store from drab to fab. Fenwick was a bit of a dinosaur – I love that in the restaurant you can see any variety of people from elegant older ladies with grey chignons and Chanel sunglasses to a whole gaggle of PRs using it as an out of office strategy meeting place – but it’s shaking off that dusty image and replacing it with a brand new, shiny, exquisite one.
If there was any place in the whole world I’d like to be accidentally locked in overnight, it’s the third floor of Fenwick – the best jeans, the nicest clothes; loads of Scandi and boutique brands that are knocking it out of the park fashion-wise. The ground floor now has a shoe section – who knew Aerin Lauder did shoes? But she does, and they’re there. The beauty section is split into two – one section that’s lively with innovative new brands and trend brands such as Paul & Joe. The other is more sedate with Clarins, Bobbi and several other counters where you don’t get chased down the aisles to test a fragrance sample or lured in to try a free mascara that’s only free when you put down your life savings on the super expensive face cream. The sales assistants are the least aggressive in London so it’s the perfect place to have someone’s undivided attention for advice – or not. It’s all good – if I’m ever asked for a recommendation on where to buy beauty, I always say Fenwick Bond Street. I’d say the same for fashion – there are no sharper fashion edits than in Fenwick. Better yet (for the customer), footfall is low, so you’re never bag-bashed like you are in Selfridges.
But, it’s a different thing when you just love a place naturally, than when you’re asked to love a place professionally. I have zero relationship behind the scenes – they were super keen to capture the blogger love initially but when they cancelled meeting after meeting in a we’re-doing-super-important-things way, I gave up and declined to follow up subsequent arrangements – nobody wants the ‘most cancelled’ badge. Today I got an email asking me to flag up an event that the store is doing around beauty, so I took a couple of pics to illustrate and instantly got security and a sales assistant telling me I couldn’t take any pictures – “they’re not allowed”.
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I don’t think I’ve ever been asked not to take a picture in a store before (maybe back in the day before blogging was a thing) – most stores get it about social media and the massive sway it can have in directing consumers to places they’d never think to go otherwise and highlighting cool products that can sell out within the day. It’s like the right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing at Fenwick – on the one hand they want to ‘utilise’ bloggers but on the other hand they don’t get the crucial social bit of social media. I don’t see a lot of re-tweets and re-grams going on either – brands that don’t do the social bit of social media end up with timelines that are just streams of info with no interaction. And, just boring. They never really get a feel for who their followers are, so there’s no real way to target well. Interaction is information.
So, it’s a bit of a shame that my favourite London store is so disappointing in those areas- even more so for the brands they stock – but it’s made me wonder what your favourite beauty and fashion stores are? The ones that interact really well with you and make you feel like part of an important customer group? I know that Harrods has one of the best social media teams I’ve ever come across (and I hardly ever shop there) and that Selfridges are takers not givers in the social media world, but other stores, I don’t really know if there’s any store who has it bang on? If you know different, please tell me!
Anyway, please know that the pictures in the piece are the ones that aren’t allowed. #badface
NB: The following day, Fenwick revoked the no-photography rule. I had many emails on this subject so I’ll cover it in a separate post, but one of the issues brought up was by someone who worked at Harrods, where you are not allowed to take pictures for security reasons. It’s totally understandable if someone is taking pictures of store layout and acting suspiciously but an entirely different thing to a blogger taking a picture of a lipstick or a bag. I think common sense has to apply – if you’re being weird and taking unreasonable amounts of pictures, then someone will pull you up on it, regardless of photography rules. If you’re taking product pics to share on social media, and someone asks what you’re doing, tell them. As I understand it, this will be okay from now on at Fenwick.
Final point, Fenwick picked up on this post very quickly much to my surprise (it’s impossible to know who does and doesn’t read this blog) – they’ve surpassed all expectations (not that there were any on my part) in trying to rectify everything and become a more social media friendly brand. I’m looking forward to following their journey and encouraging them to get social and in the meantime, they’ve listened, responded and learned. You can’t really ask or expect more than that. Although they’ve declined to lock me in on the third floor overnight with a bag marked swag ;-).
Oh, and finally, Paul & Joe is no longer there. Considering how often I am in that beauty hall I have no idea how I didn’t notice this.
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28 comments
What on earth is the problem with taking photos? What is it that they’re frightened of, precisely? Did you ask them?
No, I just left … !
I much prefer Fenwick in Newcastle. The staff are so much friendlier and not so intimidating as the Bond St store. They also don’t look at you as if you’re going to steal all the things. I will always buy from the Newcastle store when I go home.
I dunno, maybe its just the North/South divide stereotype at work?
I find them really nice in general.. very helpful.. just this one particular one was not..although I imagine she was doing it with the store’s interest at heart. I just think how can the SAs work without knowing what the policy is? Especially with bloggers – we need pictures of everything!
I always go to the Fenwick’s in Canterbury! They’re ever so sweet and so helpful! It’s safe to say that it’s one of my favourite shops and I do find myself endlessly staring at the large display of Mulberry handbags I can only dream of affording! I have to say, I’ve never ventured anywhere past the first floor, so I’ll have to go have a nosey the next time I go into town! Much love xx
Currently I don’t have a favourite fashion or beauty store. Ten or twenty years ago I could have given you half a dozen stores that I really loved but not now. Even visits to the London shops have lost some excitement.
For beauty this is because of the ease of use of the internet where you can see if the product is in stock and get the product a bit cheaper that’s done for the high street for me.
Similar for clothing and bags plus the shops are so samey by me. The few good independant shops have been closed by the downturn and high overheads.
If I had to pick one it would be Radley who send regular emails that display correctly in my browser and the assistants in the shop nearest to me have always been friendly and helpful.
I find the B. Is Beautiful brand at Superdrug are fantastic with social media – they always retweet my tweets mentioning them and often retweet links to blog posts where I have reviewed their products.
Rebecca, from The Two Twenty Somethings
(www.thetwotwentysomethings.blogspot.co.uk)
Xx
Hi Jane, great article! Can I ask, what do you mean by Selfridges being takers not givers of socai media? Do they not give much back?
Thanks xx
I mean they’re not really ones for retweets or regrams that I’ve noticed.
I think Cult Beauty and Salon Skincare do a great job. They’re not ‘proper stores’ though so maybe that’s why they are more in tune with social media. Perhaps it’s difficult for department stores because their lines of stock (and customer base) are so varied?
Day in London on Sunday… Going to need me some of this action, hellooooo!! x
http://kirstiepickering1.blogspot.co.uk/
There’s a Fenwick in Tunbridge Wells. Next time I go there I think I’ll ask about their policy re. taking photos. I really can’t fathom what the objection might be.
So pretty! I walked past this the other month, shame I didn’t go in!
alicekatex ♥
As much as I love Fenwicks (though it still weirds me out to think of it as a nationwide thing) and have pride in it as a success from Newcastle, they really need to sort it out sometimes. Constant cancelling isn’t cool and God only knows what was with the photo thing (though I was always under the impression you shouldn’t really take photos in stores so maybe that’s what they were under the impression of as well?)
Nice to know the restaurant audience is the same, though.
Space NK & Cult Beauty are both very good at responding & re tweeting. And a special mention for May Lindstrom for the fastest, politest, most comprehensive & personal reply to a quick query ever! xCx
Same, Jane! I’ve also been a victim of the cancelled and re-cancelled Fenwick meeting. I figured maybe they’re just overstretched but still… I do agree that the product in there is so good and getting better all the time. I love that the store feels quite intimate too, whenever I go in I bump into one of the Prs or a buyer on the shop floor and get a heads-up on a new designer or brand, there’s always an element of surprise which is great. Regarding department stores on social media, I have to say I always get retweeted by Selfridges, so I have to disagree with that one. I still love department stores and don’t shop a lot online. i find it odd that dept stores don’t flag up their inshore events so much in their email blasts. Maybe they should…
Oh, interesting DRG! Yes, I see buyers and sometimes David around so they’re definitely getting hands-on – it’s a noticable difference from how it used to be and maybe it’s just lack of understanding that bloggers don’t hang around in their bedrooms all day trying on clothes and lipsticks – we’re really, really busy and just as short on time as they are. I just don’t see a lot of RTs from Selfridges – mind you, nor do I see many from Harrods but the SM team at Harrods have found the ‘Harrods’ voice I think. Fenwick has a big footfall issue; they could really do with the promotion so I’m baffled really.
Fenwick have an excellent perfume range, and I do go there more often now, but the lack in footfall can be a bit awkward, because I expect SAs to jump at me if I show any interest.
In terms of social media I think SpaceNK and Liberty are doing a good job.
Good morning Jane & everyone who has taken the time to share their feedback on the brand and the store – all constructive! We have changed our photography policy following this feedback with immediate effect so any issues on this front moving forward – please do flag them on Twitter directly to @FenwickBondSt. We have always tried to be protective of our customers privacy which is why we have shied away from snappers, but we want our customers to be able to celebrate product they love, so we have made the change accordingly. We love interacting with our Twitter followers and aim to respond to anyone tweeting our handle directly, so please continue to do so. Regarding meetings – we will follow up with you directly today!
I was in there this july, and a sales agent told me that Paul & Joe had been pulled out from Fenwick! So you may check it twice ?
I ended up at Harrods, by the way! I only go there when we travel to London (I live in Barcelona), and we wandered around all morning just to get a nice Paul & Joe counter!
yes they have!! I was so surprised … and weirdly in my picture, they’re not there.. so how I didn’t notice I don’t know. I think I just saw them as part of the fixtures and fittings. Will be adding some notes to the bottom of the post later today – a lot has happened!
What a shame. I have not been to Fenwick for years. Yet the pictures you have published have put it back in my mind.
Perhaps you should send them a link to this so they can see that they are missing a trick..
I do love that Fenwicks store – mostly for the range of brands and very chilled out feel it has. I agree they could use a bit more promotion – there’s hardly ever anyone in it! x
I actually find a lot of stores say that photography is “banned”. Even Topshop which you would think was the bastion of social media savvy, I had security come up to me in the Westfield store and when I tweeted about it nobody from Topshop responded. I just tend to play dumb and pretend I’m a tourist 🙂
Fenwicks is a lovely store and feels like a little secret as there never seems to be any one in there. On the social media front, it is very rare for Selfridges to RT or even reply – I’m guessing that DRG is the exception rather than the rule. In terms of the department stores, the Urban Retreat team are responsive. It tends to be the smaller niche brands that engage more I’ve noticed.
Fenwick is the store that, to me gets left out. Everyone knows Harrods and Selfridges and not to mention Harvey Nichols but Fenwick had items not found in those stores at least when I shopped there many many moons ago. I still have a lovely mirror I bought there. Obviously, it has changed because I don’t remember a restaurant. Someday, I shall return to Fenwick
I have been in a couple of times as I had a nails inc card and the staff on the nail bar are so nice. Unfortunately I can’t say the same for the staff in other areas… I went for a wander round this week before my appointment and felt so uncomfortable because of the way staff were looking at me I gave up and went back down. I was ignored so they could continue their conversation in one area and made to feel I was going to steal something in another. Shame because I found a couple things I would have bought
I was in Fenwicks last year with a friend who was trying to buy a mother of the bride hat and we got told we couldn’t take photos of her trying on some hats. We left, feeling puzzled and unloved.
Yeah, I was at Fenwick in June 2014 and they said Paul&Joe had just left. At Selfridges they had just one little counter. So disappointing. Fenwick had such good sales, bummer I did not hoard back then.