Reiss (/riːs/Reess) is an English fashion brand and retail store chain. The brand produces men's and women's clothing. It has 160 stores in 15 countries.[1]
Reiss was founded David Reiss in 1971.[2] Its first store in London's Bishopsgate sold men's suits. It began to sell women's clothes from 2000.[1]
The Reiss flagship store and headquarters in London, designed by Squire and Partners, has won several awards including the RIBA Award, the BCO Award and the Civic Trust Award.[3] The brand was named Fashion Retailer of the Year in 2003 at the British Style Awards.[4]
Reiss has seen a significant increase in the number of its stores to 160 outlets worldwide, including key stores in Heathrow Terminal 5 and Westfield London as well as over four dozen locations across the United States as of 2022.[5] Reiss intends to eventually grow to 250 stores worldwide.[6]
In June 2021, British clothing retailer Next agreed to buy a 25 percent stake in Reiss from both Warburg Pincus and the Reiss Family for £33 million, and also make a debt investment of £10 million, financed from cash resources.[7] Following the purchase Next announced their intention to integrate Reiss' ecommerce solutions into the NEXT Total Platform, allowing for cross channel sales on both next.com and reiss.com.[8]
In June 2022, Next increased their share of ownership in the brand to 51%, taking over majority ownership from Warburg Pincus.
In June 2023 it was reported that Next and Warburg Pincus were in talks to sell their controlling stakes in the business.[9]
In September 2023, Next PLC announced that it had agreed to acquire the entirety of Warburg Pincus' 34% interest in the Reiss Group for total consideration of £128m. Upon completion of the transaction, expected to take place in mid-October 2023, Next PLC's holding in the Reiss business will increase from 51% to 72%. The Reiss family's holding will increase to 22% and the Reiss management team will hold 6% equity in the business. [10]
