Cooper’s Offers Brooks Brothers Brand

May 23, 2012

A.S. Cooper and Sons have made an agreement with Brooks Brothers, the oldest men’s clothier in the U.S., to sell the Brooks Brothers product line exclusively in Bermuda.

Cooper’s is one of a handful of carefully chosen retailers in North America to become a wholesale customer of the Madison Avenue, N.Y. based company. Established in 1818, Brooks Brothers has been the clothier of choice to a multitude of presidents and celebrities and owns and operates over 300 stores around the world.

Product including non-iron dress shirts, chino trousers, blazers and neckwear were put out on the shelves at A.S. Cooper Man at the end of last week to an eager audience who found out about the arrival through word of mouth and social media.

A.S. Cooper Managing Director, Somers Cooper said, “we are excited to be able to offer such an iconic and high quality brand to our local customers at U.S. prices.

“We will start out slow offering the basics, anchored by their famous non-iron dress shirt, and then begin to layer in some fashion pieces when they become available to us. We see this becoming one of our top men’s brands in the next 12 months.”

A.S. Cooper’s also announced the re-introduction of the Tommy Bahama brand, available locally at U.S. prices along with a selection of high quality dress shirts from Forsythe of Canada.

Mr. Cooper added, “the three new brands will solidify our position as Bermuda’s top men’s retailer and we believe that the resulting sales will be a much needed boost in these tough economic times.”

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Comments (17)

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  1. allcloggedup says:

    If you can’t match US prices, why bother….BB dress slacks go for $70-$120 on the east coast and they’re worth it…..add on import duties and overhead expenses and it just ain’t worth it. I’ll continue to buy in Boston/NYC/ATL

    • Somers Cooper says:

      We did match US prices! It says that in my quote in the article. All of our clothing is sold at US prices or better.

      • Bob N. Weave says:

        Ok, so you say you are offering US prices – please explain how you are able to do this. If Coopers is able to do this, why aren’t the other retailers also doing it?

        Sorry – I am not able to believe you until you explain this.

        • CB2 says:

          They could be buying them for a discounted price. When you setup with a company to sell their product you normally get it at a reduced cost. You could also find a price online and then look at the price at A.S Coopers.

          Many Bermuda’s companies sell items for the same price as in the USA. I remember Trimminghams had lower prices sometimes!

        • bermuda says:

          just go in the store and look for yourself. not that hard

        • Bermudian Overseas says:

          AS Coopers’ actually sell these products for less than the US stores because they don’t add tax! The price tag on the ralph lauren clothes is the exact same tag you’ll find in any Ralph Lauren outlet in the states… except they don’t add tax in Bermuda!

        • Somers Cooper says:

          We have been doing this for the last ten years with our clothing. Gibbons Company is at US prices with all of their fashion product as well. I believe the Calypso group of stores also have a sign in their windows stating this as well. Go have a look for yourself.

          • Duh.... says:

            You still didn’t answer the question! How is it that you are able to sell things cheaper than in the States? Don’t you have to pay duty? Shipping? Overhead? Does Brooks Brothers really reduce their prices to you THAT much?

            Show us some math!!! Other retailers can’t / don’t beat US prices – - so please explain via mathematics how you can.

            • MrsP says:

              To the naysayers

              Before you jump on the bandwagon with the negative comments first understand what it means to be an exclusive retailer with a quality brand like Brooks Brothers. Second understand what the term “wholesale customer” means in a retail business relationship.

              I applaud Mr. Cooper for trying to enlighten you but you can only lead a horse to water…

            • Somers Cooper says:

              As I said before, ALL the major retailers in Bermuda offer their US branded fashion at U.S. prices and have done so for years (including Trimingham’s). Any US fashion product we bring in is priced at the US MSRP and we don’t change that. We only use our price tags if the vendor doesn’t supply them already ticketed. As I said before, go into the clothing departments at Coopers, Gibbons Co., Sisley, Voila and others and see for yourself.

              10 years ago we say that we could no longer depend on the tourists to prop up our businesses so we thought we would be better off getting smaller margins and have more locals shopping at home instead of picking up the same thing on their next trip abroad. Just trying to keep 100 people employed at this point mate so why not just enjoy the prices if Bermuda retailers sell something that appeals to you! If the economy gets any worse we may have to increase prices to survive but that would be a last resort.

              Here is the math you should be wanting to see. Basic 2 button Ralph Lauren polo shirt at Macy’s NY – $75. NY Tax 8.25 % ($6) plus 25% duty ($19) at LF Wade airport if you are honest. Your total cost $100. AS Cooper Man price for the SAME EXACT shirt $75.

    • Susan McKanna says:

      Did you actually READ the article? Like where it says “A.S. Cooper Managing Director, Somers Cooper said, “we are excited to be able to offer such an iconic and high quality brand to our local customers at U.S. prices.” Notice the end of the sentence…U.S. prices!

    • CB2 says:

      A.S. Cooper Managing Director, Somers Cooper said, “we are excited to be able to offer such an iconic and high quality brand to our local customers at U.S. prices.”

      So they are matching the prices. Is it that hard to read a article before posting a comment?

  2. Chart says:

    Note for all those who call Bermuda retailers greedy: he is able to match US pricing by taking a smaller margin on the sale than is normally reserved for US retailers.

  3. Bobby B says:

    I agree with Mr Cooper.
    As cooper has been the top store in Bermuda for many years. Gibbons can not compete with them. They by far the best on the island BUY BDA
    Somers you rock

  4. Elizabeth Tee says:

    Somers, will you be selling women’s clothes from Brooks Brothers? I buy most of my office clothes from them and it would be so much easier to buy them on the island.

    • Somers Cooper says:

      Dear Ms. Tee
      We are starting with the Mens product and once we have a feel for the brand in Bda we may consider the ladies line as well.

  5. Enforcer says:

    I dont buy BB clothing however for those that do this is great news. If Coopers can negotiate good wholesale prices,land the goods and make a smaller margin, then you should be encouraging them not finding fault in trying to promote BUY BDA. Here it is they are bringing in quality clothes at US Prices! If the maths doesn’t make sense then maybe you should stop writing/typing nonsense and go to a math tutor.