Business of Fashion COS shopping mystery - Essay Example

Business of Fashion COS Shopping Mystery al Affiliation) When I first visited COS, I was eager to explore their collection and find out what the rave was all about with this new store. I had heard good things about it before, but I needed to go in order to see and witness for myself what others said was probably the best new fashion store in London. COS was created in order to meet the needs of a specific group of people. This group of customers was defined by two things: the preference for luxury goods and the willingness to spend moderate sums of money on those goods.

The fact is that there are millions of people in Britain and around the world who would like to shop at H&M, Selfridges, Gucci, and other trendy stores, but who are unable to afford a shopping experience there. The objective of establishing COS was therefore to provide people like these with the opportunity to purchase classy and fashionable goods without necessarily paying exorbitant amounts of money. On the other hand, it is also important to note that offering cheap products was not part of this strategy; the goods were supposed to be cheaper but not cheap.

Finally, after months of talking about it, I visited the COS Flagship Store at 222 Regent St – near Oxford Circus. I must say that the store had a very good ambience, and the setting gave it a grandeur that I did not expect to see given the “cheaper” slogan that H&M had adopted for use in selling COS to its customers. The store was generally clean, and the dressing rooms were nice, presentable and welcoming. The attendants were all dressed in casual clothing, which was not a surprise considering the line of work they were in.

From the entrance, I could see both classic and casual attire. It is also worth mentioning that all the employees wore the current season trends from the brand; this is a promotional strategy that is used by businesses all over the world. If you want to popularize your products and get people to use them, start closer to home. One thing that left me disappointed during my visit was the service. I mean, it is one thing to set up shop, and a different thing to create good customer service that promotes a good rapport between a business and its customers.

According to me, COS is failing in this. When I entered into the store my presence was not even acknowledged (maybe it is because of few employees, but I think it is just plain snobbery). Worse still, I was not greeted courteously and in a friendly manner, and I did not receive any offer of assistance as I was trying on some clothes. If COS is to be a successful venture the customer service must be improved. Laxity when it comes to customer service is something that cannot be tolerated; it needs to be done away with especially because this is a store trying to create a name for itself.

Overall, I rate the establishment as fair. I would definitely shop there again in the future, but only because of the fair pricing and good ambience. References Kuehn, J. (2009). The fashion industry in the United Kingdom. London: Penguin Publishers.