Ian Rosen Explains the Customer Experience at Harry Rosen

Ian is the Vice President of Digital and Strategy at Harry Rosen, the grandson to the Founder of the company, Harry Rosen who started the little menswear shop in Toronto 66 years ago. Today there are 18 stores across Canada in all 7 major markets, with an online presence. Ian was inspired by his grandfather to pursue fashion and joined the company 2 years ago after spending time in management consulting, focused on retail and corporate strategies while morphing into e-commerce and digital growth.

For those who have never been into a Harry Rosen store, Ian describes the experience. Every single one of their clothing advisors is trained in every product and fitting technique in the store, so you as the customer have the most seamless experience and build a relationship with the advisor you're working with. Over time, Ian says that the advisors on their team build strong relationships with the customers and some are even invited to help clean their closets at homes or make recommendations based on purchases they remember you making in the past. Although this is a very personalized experience, Ian knows not every person wants to shop this way. “We make sure that we cater to that very white-glove experience, but also to the customer who just wants to walk in and get something to their liking.” Currently, they are trying to take this experience to the next level. Apart from booking an appointment with your advisor, how could they build the online booking so that when you walk in everything is ready for you? Or could they make sure you can walk into any location and an advisor can pick up on your past experience with your purchase history and sizing?

Ian sees a shift in the way consumers view many of their experiences with products and services because we're in the age of automation and technology. Nobody wants to wait in line or explain their product preferences when they walk into the store, so Ian sees a world where shopping experiences become tailored to you through purchase history and size preferences on file. With all the changes happening in the industry, all Ian wants to see in the world is men in better clothing, which makes them feel more confident and gives them the opportunity to express themselves and that’s one of their core missions, similar to Dress for Success.

Social media is becoming a big service for discovering new potential customers for Harry Rosen, they have evolved a lot in the way they advertise their products. Viewers are not being sold on price or sale, but hearing a story about a great product and finding out why you should buy it so it's in the back of consumers’ minds, and then reinforcing the product again on sale so that there's an incentive to come in.

Written by Juliana Bermudez