Which premium brands do you think should not be premium?

[Cheeseandlobster]

For me it's Morning Fresh. I thought it was shite a decade ago. Bought it again recently and it is still crap. It doesn't lather and my usual Aldi own brand is far superior. How on earth has it survived this long?

Volkswagen Audi

A company that spent millions systematically and intentionally lying to all of their customers, misleading to the authorities and polluting the air. They should have been closed down.

I’ve never had a problem with Clark’s shoes, always thought they were good quality.

BMW and Mercedes

Hotel Chocolate I agree with, overpriced crap. I don’t know how they survive.

Baylis and Harding isn’t premium. Are you thinking of Molton Brown?

I have to disagree with North Face. My American cousins send my older DC a children’s North Face winter coat every year. The smallest sizes have been worn to death, passed around the other cousins’ children, and then come back for my DC2 and they still look brilliant. Really thin and lightweight but super warm and overall much cheaper than buying each of those children a less expensive coat.

Also yes to Jo Malone. Incredibly expensive and, as eaux de colognes, the weakest possible strength of fragrance. They now have the audacity to market ‘layering’ their fragrances so that you buy twice as much to compensate for their thin, weedy blends!

A lot of the car brands. Thirty years ago owning a Merc or BMW was a way of paying a premium for rock-solid reliability and a car that would run forever. These days? Bah. Unfortunately reality hasn't trickled down to the customer service personnel. And at the same time a lot of the more mid-market car brands, and new entrants from Asia, have really proved themselves.

louis vuitton - awful monogramming all over their stuff
charlotte tilbury - awful stuff especially their bronzer and palettes the quality and colours have changed from previous as the brand got bigger imo

jo malone

white stuff - again shapeless clothing very over priced for what they are and how they wear

free people clothing

@AgeLikeWine

Land Rover & Range Rover SUVs. Unreliable, badly built, poor quality junk.

They may look good & be fantastic off-road in theory, but nobody ever uses them for that purpose because they are always in the dealer’s workshops having yet another electrical fault fixed. Or not fixed, if the entirely useless dealership in my area is typical.

My dad owns a garage and says if you can’t afford a Landrover/Range Rover brand new you can’t afford a second hand one. They cost so much to fix if they have any problems.

I have to disagree with some of you.Ted Baker - infinitely worth it, consistently beautiful and quality. And Nike footwear. I walk around 6 miles a day, my trainers are still going strong after 3 years and aren't expensive, comparatively.

@MizMoonshine

I have to disagree with some of you.Ted Baker - infinitely worth it, consistently beautiful and quality. And Nike footwear. I walk around 6 miles a day, my trainers are still going strong after 3 years and aren't expensive, comparatively.

Agree! And I don’t think either brands are premium?! Maybe Ted Baker is higher end high street but definitely not designer.

Maybe Ted Baker is higher end high street but definitely not designer.
How would you define “designer”?

I always thought morning fresh was positioned a cheap version, not premium.

Karen Millen... went downhill since taken over by Boohoo.

There's some interesting interpretations of the original question.

Louis Vuitton - are they honestly not premium anymore because the monogram and the Damier Ebené are everywhere on Instagram or whatever?

For me premium means two things: the quality of the product, and the quality of the customer experience (sales, aftercare, reliability).

I don't think Louis Vuitton fails on those fronts. I think it fails on the "has it become so commonplace that Mumsnetters believe it's now naff" front, which is always fun for some, but I don't think falls under the remit of the original question.

One answer that does hit the nail on the head is the Range Rover sub-brand of Jaguar Land Rover.

The product is notionally brilliant. A luxury Swiss Army knife of a 4x4, steeped in fifty years of heritage. Was in a class of its own until recently and still is the default for a lot of folk looking for this type of car and experience.

But that experience is tainted for a lot of folk by the build quality and reliability of a car that should be so much better for the price. Electronics glitching constantly, major engine failure on the smaller diesel engines, doors randomly unlatching while on the move, faulty bonnet sensor shutting the whole car down, diesel engines sending it into "limp" mode at 70mph, and then the worst till last.. oil dilution and DPF clogging meaning the cars can fail completely at 10,000 miles or so.

A disgrace at the price they're asking but... they can't stop selling the things because people either don't know about the issues, or they hear about them but want that badge so much they're willing to overlook it

@DynamoKev

Maybe Ted Baker is higher end high street but definitely not designer. How would you define “designer”?

I suppose it is designer as it’s named after someone! I know what I mean! Haha!

On the "is Ted Baker designer" question, again I don't think we'll get a clear definition because it's still subjective in some parts.

My view is that it isn't "designer" because the way it was originally founded was more as a clothing "brand" by an entrepreneur that used an alter ego to sell premium feeling clothing. There wasn't an atelier or workshop run by a named designer that created distinct and limited edition pieces. I'd argue Superdry and Reiss are its peers.

I think in equivalent price terms Armani Exchange is more distinct as "designer" because it is the accessible price point of a brand with real fashion heritage in the ready to wear space.

(PS my post about Armani Exchange is an illustration not an endorsement of its premium quality or otherwise).

Most definitely Pandora.

Dyson Hoover- broke often. Shark is better.
Reiss - polyester

They may look good & be fantastic off-road in theory, but nobody ever uses them for that purpose because they are always in the dealer’s workshops having yet another electrical fault fixed. Or not fixed, if the entirely useless dealership in my area is typical

You really are being ridiculous.

Where we live off roading across deserts for a few days and generally difficult terrain when going into the interior for a day out is par for the course and we’ve never been let down by any of the RR’s in the family. They go to be serviced when it’s due and that’s it.

They’re like Toyota land cruisers. Great at what they do.

A lot of so called premium clothes shops, a lot are mentioned upthread, are just cheap viscose and polyester so you may as well just go to Next or H&M

@DinosaurDiana

I’ve never had a problem with Clark’s shoes, always thought they were good quality.

They used to be good quality. Nowadays they are made in China and are just not the same.

Is Ted Baker a designer Brand?

No. Its high street and that’s ok as is people who buy it being happy they’ve bought a designer brand.

I think that any ‘premium’ brand that’s sold in TK Maxx is not really premium. Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, etc.

Also:
Coach
Range Rover
Swarovski
Pandora
Ugg
Charlotte Tilbury
Guess
Superdry
Louis Vuitton
Hunter

As for clothing stores that have gone downhill in terms of quality of experience, I’d say Gap and Zara used to feel much more upmarket 15-20 years ago than they do now. Both are just cheap fast fashion teen zoos these days.