7 Burlington Gardens
Encyclopedia
7 Burlington Gardens is a Grade II* location of historic English significance, in London
, England
, United Kingdom
. It is the former Queensberry House (not to be confused with the Scottish building of the same name
) also called Uxbridge House. 7 Burlington Gardens is now the London flagship store of the American fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch
.
district of London. Although the official address is 7 Burlington Gardens, it is also on Savile Row
and Google Maps
labels the now A&F location as 42 Savile Row, Westminster
, W1S 3QG, United Kingdom
. On the side of the building facing Savile Row, a sign reads Savile Row W1 / City of Westminster
. On the facade of the building facing Burlington Gardens, it read "Burlington Gardens W1 / City of Westminster."
and staircases and vaults were added in the interior.
to convert the location into an aspirational flagship. Numerous London buses decorated with A&F imagery (announcing the opening of the flagship) ran throughout London's streets.
When 7 Burlington Gardens opened doors, on 22 March 2008, it generated a volume sales of $280,000 USD in the first six hours. A crowd of people waited outside the building all day. In April 2008, A&F Quarterly
, which was discontinued in 2003 in the USA, was relaunched for the UK. Late 2008, the brand launched a promoting film of the location which is played here.
Associates get an hourly salary of £
6.50 while the store greeters receive £7.50. David Beckham
entered the flagship shortly after its opening, so Mail Online UK
reported.
: “If the Bespoke businesses were driven out by crappy retail stores selling poor-quality clothes...then Savile Row’s name would be irreparably damaged.”
UK Price Points: After the company opened its flagship in London
/ Savile Row
, the brand was criticized in the UK because the merchandise that was offered to the UK customers cost double the prices (or even a direct $/£ swap) found in the United States and that goods offered in the UK are from past US seasons at full UK (£) prices without past season - clearance discount.The merchandise is labeled with much higher price in the UK than in American stores. Many products are priced with a direct $-to-£
swap that amounts to unreasonable price extortion. Jeans costing $89.50 in American stores are £90 ($155.17) in the UK. Many UK customers have expressed feeling of being "ripped-off". On the matter, the company said that it is following a trend by other brands to maintain profits in the UK (dubbed "Treasure Island"). Nevertheless, A&F has a price raise overwhelmingly higher than these other brands. An Abercrombie & Fitch website dedicated to the UK was also launched to prevent UK customers from accessing the American priced merchandise. View the UK privacy policies here.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is the former Queensberry House (not to be confused with the Scottish building of the same name
Queensberry House
Queensberry House is a 17th century Category A listed building in the Canongate, Edinburgh, Scotland, incorporated into the Scottish Parliament complex. It contains the office of the Presiding Officer, two Deputy Presiding Officers, the Parliament's Chief Executive, and other staff.The mansion...
) also called Uxbridge House. 7 Burlington Gardens is now the London flagship store of the American fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch is an American retailer that focuses on casual wear for consumers aged 18 to 22. It has over 300 locations in the United States, and is expanding internationally....
.
Location
The address is in the MayfairMayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
district of London. Although the official address is 7 Burlington Gardens, it is also on Savile Row
Savile Row
Savile Row is a shopping street in Mayfair, central London, famous for its traditional men's bespoke tailoring. The term "bespoke" is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers...
and Google Maps
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...
labels the now A&F location as 42 Savile Row, Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
, W1S 3QG, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. On the side of the building facing Savile Row, a sign reads Savile Row W1 / City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
. On the facade of the building facing Burlington Gardens, it read "Burlington Gardens W1 / City of Westminster."
1725 to 21st century
The building was first erected in 1725 as a home. In the subsequent years, there were many additions and alterations to the building. At some point, it was made a branch of the Bank of EnglandBank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
and staircases and vaults were added in the interior.
Abercrombie & Fitch
Abercrombie & Fitch leased the location in 2005. Seldorf Architects were hired to design the location in a way that both the A&F and English cultures could collaborate while maintaining most of the original architecture. Overnight in May, a two story construction wall was erected around the building and was plastered with the usual half-naked men and "Abercrombie & Fitch". The building then underwent an 18-month long restoration projectBuilding restoration
Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
to convert the location into an aspirational flagship. Numerous London buses decorated with A&F imagery (announcing the opening of the flagship) ran throughout London's streets.
When 7 Burlington Gardens opened doors, on 22 March 2008, it generated a volume sales of $280,000 USD in the first six hours. A crowd of people waited outside the building all day. In April 2008, A&F Quarterly
A&F Quarterly
A&F Quarterly is an American lifestyle periodical by Abercrombie & Fitch. Targeted towards the college-aged youth , the Quarterly primarily serves as a promotional vehicle for the A&F brand...
, which was discontinued in 2003 in the USA, was relaunched for the UK. Late 2008, the brand launched a promoting film of the location which is played here.
Today: A Flagship store
The flagship takes up two floors of sales space within the building. Shirtless store greeters welcome at the entrance. The interior is noticeably dark and on walls hang massive paintings of semi-nude males similar to the Fifth Avenue flagship. Electronic dance music blasts and A&F fragrant scents are in the air. Associates ask the tagline "Hey, what's going on?", are instructed to smile, and supposedly talk shoplifters into buying the item they intended to rob rather than to incriminate them. As in other A&F stores there are the "models", the "impact team", and the "overnighters". There is a dance platform where models are instructed to dance for long periods of time - these are featured in the promotional video.Associates get an hourly salary of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
6.50 while the store greeters receive £7.50. David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
entered the flagship shortly after its opening, so Mail Online UK
Mail Online
Mail Online is the name of the website of the Daily Mail, a newspaper in the United Kingdom. It contains almost all the stories from the Daily Mail and includes a large archive of main stories...
reported.
Criticism
Presence of A&F on Savile Row: The form of arrivial, with the provocative construction wall for example, raised eyebrows among the conservative business owners of the street renowned for its formal respectable image. The Savile Row Bespoke was formed with permission of the City of Westminster to join Row tailors in protecting Savile Rows image. Mark Henderson, CEO of Gieves & Hawkes was made Chairman and he commented that “Exploiting the Savile Row name to attract high-paying retailers and businesses, at the cost of this world-esteemed industry [Savile Row tailoring], is shortsighted." Another Row tailor, Thomas Mahon, negatively commented on the situation to The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
: “If the Bespoke businesses were driven out by crappy retail stores selling poor-quality clothes...then Savile Row’s name would be irreparably damaged.”
UK Price Points: After the company opened its flagship in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
/ Savile Row
Savile Row
Savile Row is a shopping street in Mayfair, central London, famous for its traditional men's bespoke tailoring. The term "bespoke" is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers...
, the brand was criticized in the UK because the merchandise that was offered to the UK customers cost double the prices (or even a direct $/£ swap) found in the United States and that goods offered in the UK are from past US seasons at full UK (£) prices without past season - clearance discount.The merchandise is labeled with much higher price in the UK than in American stores. Many products are priced with a direct $-to-£
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
swap that amounts to unreasonable price extortion. Jeans costing $89.50 in American stores are £90 ($155.17) in the UK. Many UK customers have expressed feeling of being "ripped-off". On the matter, the company said that it is following a trend by other brands to maintain profits in the UK (dubbed "Treasure Island"). Nevertheless, A&F has a price raise overwhelmingly higher than these other brands. An Abercrombie & Fitch website dedicated to the UK was also launched to prevent UK customers from accessing the American priced merchandise. View the UK privacy policies here.