Department Stores

[Funinfox]

Hi all,

 

I really like looking at fur coats in department stores as I feel there is less pressure than going into a fur salon. If you go into a fur salon someone will ask you what you are after whereas if you are in a department store and happen to walk into the area where they sell furs you will be mostly left alone. In a department its easier to wonder around looking and feeling all the furs without being too scrutinised.

 

As an example last weekend I walked around Harrods and was able to look at and feel all their great furs without being disturbed at all. Also I feel that as no one really paid attention to me I can go back regularly to look at and feel their furs. Would it be possible to go once a month to a fur salon to look at and feel all their furs?

 

Harrods is really the only department store in London that has furs worth mentioning but when I go to places like New York the big department stores there are great.

 

What do you all think? Which are the department stores you have been too that have had lots of furs? Which city is the best for department stores with lots of fur?

 

Cheers,

Funinfox

[AKcoyote]

The biggest difference between department stores and furriers is what portion of their business fur sales are. That explains why clerks in fur stores are more eager to assist you.

 

As to what cities are better for finding furs in department stores, in the US generally those larger cities that have a colder winter.

[paul2809]

I know Saks fith avenue has a fur salon in thier store in San Antonio, Tx..

Ive been n there once but the mens mink was wayyy to expensive .. 10grand for a mink jacket..

[Guest]

Saks has a salon in SF too. I've never been, but heard it from another FD member who lives near SF. I know Neiman Marcus has a fur "area" not really a salon, but is a distinct room. Over the summer their coats were actually in the walk way outside the room (cable-locked of course). I did get to stroke a couple of furs. My wife was on a mission so I had to keep moving. NM has a nice room starting in fall.

[maktak]

Saks has a salon in SF too. I've never been, but heard it from another FD member who lives near SF. I know Neiman Marcus has a fur "area" not really a salon, but is a distinct room. Over the summer their coats were actually in the walk way outside the room (cable-locked of course). I did get to stroke a couple of furs. My wife was on a mission so I had to keep moving. NM has a nice room starting in fall.

 

Cable-locked? How does one cable lock a coat?

[Panther10]

The Macy's in Skokie Illinois has a fur salon. I bought a blue fox from them about 6 years ago. Usually every decenmber from the 1st to the 24th they will have many of their inventory out on display in the rest of their women's department. But who knows if they will be doing the same thing this winter since so many stores are closing.

[Guest]

Cables are run through a sleeve up to the collar (or vice versa) and the coat is locked to the rack it is hanging on. Can't blame them really. But the thing is, the fur "salon" in N/M is on the third floor. Not much chance of getting out of the store if someone lifts it off a rack and tries to run.

 

I was surprised too.

[WinnipegFur]

The Bay downtown in Winnipeg has a fur salon, but I don't how it is now.. I was in there YEARS ago and tried on a few coyote jackets...

 

They do the fur salon at one of their other locations in the city as well... Ive walked by there a few times , but the woman who is there doesn't seem too "nice" and the selection there isn't great.. The Bay is VERY expensive as well....

[minkme]

Saks 5th Ave ha a fur salon in San Francisco.

 

The Macy's fur salon for this area is long gone.

[gai]

Some of the Bloomingdales in California has some fur salons too. I worked in one until recently. There's also one in SF, which I have visited. The furs are usually on locked hangers or have cables for security. Don't think I've ever been to a Neiman Marcus with a fur area/salon. Wonder where those are located. Wish more department stores had a dedicated fur section, but you all should check out the ones that do.

[dongleboy]

My wife, who is very supportive of my fascination with fur, has always been more than happy to indulge my fascination with fur. Every time we go to New York we always end up in the fur departments of Bloomingdales where the staff are very helpful. It's always the last part of the store we visit so my wife has usually amassed a few Medium and Large Brown Bags which, hopefully, gives the impression that we've spent a bit of money in the store!

 

Usually, we go in February so the fur department are keen to shift that seasons stock and discounts are mentioned. (Mind you, even with substantial discounts, Bloomingdales prices are WAY beyond what we could afford). As a result, my wife has had the opportunity to try on some pretty exotic furs, notably an ankle length sable that had originally been priced at $120,000! We could have got it for the knock down price of $85,000!! For a fleeting moment I was tempted to place a deposit and re-mortgage the house! The girl who served us was obviously very new and seemed keen to spend time with us so we were there for over an hour. I did ask if they sold many sables at a $120,000 a pop and she replied 'not many'!

 

The last time we went to New York we took my mother as a birthday treat and she bought a mink hat in the fur department for $500 in their sale. While she was going through the paperwork I saw a woman come in to the department wearing a gorgeous full length mink. She obviously knew the saleswoman well for they had a very animated conversation which led to the reasons for her visit. The mink she was wearing was need of repair and could she hand it in for repair? Was she going to be coatless? (The temperature during our visit never went above 0 degrees which had led to parts of the Hudson River freezing over). Not a chance! She had 'phoned ahead and one of her OTHER coats had been brought out of storage for her to pick up! It was also full length but this one had a large sable collar and looked incredibly warm.

 

Fantastic experience!

[minkme]

Thanks right, there is a fur salon/area in the San Francisco Bloomingdales. Neiman Marcus ( Needless markup) has their fur area on the 2nd or 3rd floor. it's been awhile since I as last there.

[sta]

The fur selection in Harrods is magnificent! I tale a trip every December to wander around the 1st floor and see the lovely furs and the lovely ladies trying them on.

[elbas3175]

I just visited New York and popped into the main Macy's store, which has a fur salon.

 

It's a decent size, mostly with minks obviously, but a few others as well. The staff were friendly and helpful. It was the first time I had been to a fur salon with my girlfriend and she wanted to treat me (and herself) by trying on a few coats.

 

There was a sale on. We fell in love a beautiful knee-length hooded Blackglama mink coat. It retailed for about $18,000 and was on offer at nearer $8,000 + tax. A huge discount, but still much more expensive than if you buy direct from a furrier.

 

A very pleasant experience - much more so than our visit to the Marc Kaufman store!

[chrisndeca]

Thanks right, there is a fur salon/area in the San Francisco Bloomingdales. Neiman Marcus ( Needless markup) has their fur area on the 2nd or 3rd floor. it's been awhile since I as last there.

 

When did the Bloomingdales in SF get a fur salon? I was in there 3-4 years ago, and looked everywhere and did not see one.

[chrisndeca]

I went to the NM in Denver and was shocked to find pretty much no fur for sale there.

Hopefully next year when I visit I will be able to visit a couple of the stores that I know that have fur.

[minkme]

I guess it was when Bloomingdales first open.

[chrisndeca]

I guess it was when Bloomingdales first open.

 

Damn... I was getting all excited.... I think they still have a fur section at Stanford.

[gai]

I guess it was when Bloomingdales first open.

 

Damn... I was getting all excited.... I think they still have a fur section at Stanford.

 

Actually it should still be there now. It opened recently, a few years ago. When I visited in early 2015 it was there. I heard it's not run very well though so not sure how well its doing.

[Worker 11811]

The thing about retail is that you pay a greater markup for the same designs as other stores have. Whether it be Bloomie's, Macy's or Needless Markup, the only product they have is what the store buyers get from the supplier's middleman and you pay the retail price for it. If you go to a salon, you are getting product one step closer to the supplier if not directly from the supplier. You can choose the styles you want, from the kind of fur you want and it will be custom fit for your measurements. In a department store, you mostly get only what comes off the rack.

 

I recommend that anybody who is genuinely interested in owning a good fur coat should go to a fur salon and receive the whole "treatment." Get measured. Talk about the kinds of fur you like best. Discuss the styles you like or don't like. Try a fur on. Look at yourself wearing the fur in a full length, three-way mirror. Walk around the room and really get the feel or what it is like to actually wear a fur... versus going to a department store and looking at fur coats that are chained to a rack. ( )

 

(The folks at a "really good" salon will even pour you a glass of wine or make you a cup of tea if you want! )

 

I understand what you are talking about when you say that you don't like the proverbial "swooping" salesperson. I don't like that, either. I used to work in a big ticket department at a retail department store. I sold furniture and bedding at a local Macy's department store. (Before they stopped selling furniture.)

 

Any good salesperson SHOULD approach every customer that comes into his department. He should talk to every customer for a minute or two, determine the customer's needs and present a business card. If the customer is "just looking," that's fine. The salesperson should simply say, "Please call me if you need anything," then bug off until the customer calls.

 

(You'd be surprised at the number of sales I made by using that "bug off" technique! )

 

By the same token, you (the customer) should feel free to say, "I'm just looking," and the salesperson ought to respect that. After all, that's the whole basis of retail sales... Letting people LOOK at your merchandise.

 

It might sound counter intuitive but I think that people shouldn't be afraid to go to a fur store (retail or salon) and simply say something like, "I'm interested in fur but I don't know exactly what I want." The good salesperson should give that customer a two-minute explanation of the kinds of furs they have to offer, answer a couple-few questions and, then, leave it up to the customer how far to take it.

 

Heck! I once sold a $5,000 reclining sectional sofa to an Amish family by using that technique! I walked up to the eldest man, introduced myself and presented my card. I gave him a two minute explanation of the layout of the department, asked him what he was interested in then directed him to his area of interest before bugging off. I sat at my desk and pretended to be busy doing paperwork.

 

About a dozen Amish folk wandered around, talking in Pennsylvania Dutch, pointing at all the different furniture. Ten minutes later, the elder waved me over, pointed at the sofa he wanted and handed me a wad of cash!

 

There was supposed to be an extra fee for 24-hour delivery but, when I told my manager that a guy just slapped $5,000 cash-money on my desk, he let me comp the delivery fee. Money talks and bullshit walks. Right? I just doubled my sales quota for the week and took home 10% commission. (My commission was based on whether I met a certain quota... 5% for everything below the quota and 10% on everything over the quota.)

 

The point of a long story, here, is that a good salesperson should know when to press his bets and when to step off. If he knows how to do that, he'll make more money in the long run. Do you think, if I had hounded that Amish man the way your stereotypical salesperson does, that I would have made such a sale? Not on your life! (If you don't know, Amish folks can become pretty stubborn if you don't treat them with respect.)

 

From the customer's standpoint, don't be afraid to ask for the salesperson's business card and tell them that you'll call them if you decide on something.

 

BTW: If you wonder whether a salesperson in a fur salon can tell whether you are interested in fur for... um... shall we say... reasons of "tactile gratification," the answer is probably yes. A not-insignificant proportion of people who work in the fur industry probably enjoy the tactile aspects of fur, as well. Most of them just don't care because they know that it's none of their business.

 

I can't count the number of mattresses and bedroom sets I sold to newlywed couples. We can all guess what's going to happen in those beds but I would NEVER verbalize that thought! Even if the customer came right out and said that they were planning on bonking their brains out in their new bed, I'd just smile and say, "I hope you enjoy yourselves!"

 

The last time I checked, it was still a free country! Besides... It's nobody's business but their own what they do in the privacy of their own homes. Right?

 

Bottom line: You should never feel self-conscious to walk into a fur store even if you are "just looking."

[AKcoyote]

A couple of comments regarding Worker's post:

 

In any fur store be it a department store, a fur retailer, or a full service fur salon the sales people are much more interested in making a sale than in why you are looking at furs.

 

In a fur store if fur coats are chained to the rack, that has more to do with the type of security system they have (or lack thereof) and any history of theft than the relative inconvenience to the sales people and customers. Many fur sellers cannot afford any losses to theft. Sales people will usually eagerly unlock any garment you are interested in as it means you are one step closer to them making a sale.

 

If the clerks at a fur salon will offer wine or other refreshments, remember you are paying for that service in the cost of anything you buy.

[Worker 11811]

A couple of comments regarding Worker's post:

 

In any fur store be it a department store, a fur retailer, or a full service fur salon the sales people are much more interested in making a sale than in why you are looking at furs.

 

As a salesperson, my job is to help customers get the things they want to buy. If I do that well, I'll make money for myself in the process. As far as I am concerned, if you're buying, I'm selling. I don't necessarily give a crap why people want to buy something.

 

When I bought a fur coat for my wife (now ex-wife) we made the rounds to all the usual retailers. Saks. Bloomie's. Macy's... yadda-yadda... It was mostly all the same stuff. We went to some shops in the district and found a completely different world.

 

Yes, offering customers wine or tea is a cost of doing business and you should expect to see part of that cost appear in the price of the goods. But so should you expect to see part of the cost of the firm's electric bill appear in the price of the goods. However, if you buy direct from a fur shop instead of a retailer you should expect to get a better price on the goods. It should more than make up for the cost of the drinks.

 

Besides, it could be good to get your customers "nicely lubricated" before the sale!

 

The place we went (Hennesey's) was the actual manufacturer of many of the coats we looked at in the retail shops. He showed us coats that were virtual copies of the ones we looked at in the stores and the prices were cheaper by half.

 

It was the same materials, made by the same hands in the same workshop as the ones we looked at in the retail stores but without the label that says "Yves St. Laurant" or what-have-you.

 

And the guy still made money on the sale, even with the cost of serving wine.

[AKcoyote]

Worker makes several valid points in his posts.

 

Finding a true manufacturing and full service furrier outside those cities where fur is very popular and there are many people with the means to buy quality fur garments can be difficult. Many furriers mostly offer cleaning, storage, and minor repair services as they do not have the sales volume to afford the personnel needed for a true manufacturing operation.

[Worker 11811]

Finding a true manufacturing and full service furrier outside those cities where fur is very popular and there are many people with the means to buy quality fur garments can be difficult.

 

I live in Western Pennsylvania, equidistant between Cleveland, OH and Buffalo, NY. You might find a couple-few fur dealers in Cleveland or Buffalo but that would be 1 to 2 hours driving, one way. Yes, I have gone to Cleveland to shop for fur but, to be honest, it wasn't stellar.

 

However, I can catch an Amtrak train to New York City from where I live. The train runs between NYC and Chicago. It passes by here twice per day. It only takes a half a day to get to NYC by rail and the fare prices are very competitive with the airlines, especially if you travel by coach.

 

If you're serious about shopping for fur, it would be good to make a trip to NYC, spend a weekend in a hotel, do some shopping during the day then have dinner and catch a show in the evening. See the Empire State Building. Visit the Statue of Liberty. Do the whole thing!

 

From where I live, I can leave early on a Friday and be home by Sunday night.

Travel by rail. Shop wisely on the hotel. Get your show tickets from TKTS. Plan your budget well and it won't be nearly as expensive as you think it will.

 

If you go to a bona fide fur salon, you've got a good chance to get enough of a deal on fur that it will make the whole trip worthwhile!

 

If you do end up getting a fur it can be a great way to remember how you took a trip to NYC, had a great time and came home with a good deal on a fur coat!

[chrisndeca]

If you do end up getting a fur it can be a great way to remember how you took a trip to NYC, had a great time and came home with a good deal on a fur coat!

 

Any chance of getting on one of those trains and being transported back in time to the 1980's. From what I hear, that was REALLY a great time to shop for fur in NY.