Cos....in trouble?

[mrsrhodgilbert]

I read that the H&M group are going to be closing stores and this could include Cos and I’ve just read on a blog I follow that Cos could indeed be in trouble. I can’t find anything specific online, but I will be very sad if it goes under. It’s my favourite store, even if it remains online it won’t be the same. Things can look so drab on the website but be fantastic in the shops. Has anyone heard anything about this?

Please let Arket be ok...

The last time I went into a branch of & Other Stories I couldn't believe how shoddy everything looked. This was a large store in a major city.

I thought the same in the one in my city. Everything looked cheap and bright. I like their shoes and bags though.

other stories have really nice looking stores and it feels great.....but yes the prices for the quality simply isn't working.

I like cos, they quality for price is ok, but I would think if left to mums net alone, both cos and toast should be in business forever!

they are very MN-y now aren't they?
like boden of old.

Most of the cos clothes I've seen in person look lovely on the hanger but appear to be made for women with arms about 6" longer than mine.

Actually flung &otherstories stuff much better quality than cos stuff

This is interesting cos it occurs to me that although I love Cos and lots of my wardrobe is from there I have actually bought anything from them for the past couple of years.

I'm their absolute target demographic so I guess if there are lots of people like me they could be struggling a bit.

I liked the quality of & Other Stories when they opened but it seems to have gone down.

but it seems to have gone down

It more like H&M now I think but their price range is closer to Cos.

They were conservative in terms of growing stores - other than H&M until the last couple of years. They’ve suddenly had a uk push to expand stores. So Cos and otherstories have had some further openings outside of London and they’ve established some stores for monki and weekday In the U.K. (all their brands as well). They’ve perhaps started high street expansion at the very point It’s crashed. Apparently they don’t publish their sales figures by separate brands - just the overall H&M line.

I would say they did most discounting on Monki and Weekday during lockdown. They had more special offers for cos, otherstories and Arket than normal and went into sale earlier than usual and slashed prices more than usual. H&M had very few far reaching discounts over lockdown and has only just gone into sale. That makes me think that the latter brand is still one of their safer ones.

I agree H&M is probably safer.

I think that when you make beautiful clothes and then build a website that presents them so unattractively, then when times get hard, you're going to get bitten. I would be very sorry indeed if Cos went down, but to be honest, there's a small part of me that would also think, 'Serves you right, you arrogant fuckers.'

build a website that presents them so unattractively,

I disagree with this though at one point I’d have agreed with you. I really like that Cos show the clothes and only the clothes. I can see what it looks like at different t angles. They don’t hide behind highly designed photo shoots like Hush fir example. Hush clothes look great on someone lounging on a chair, with a big sun hat until they arrive on your doorstep and are always a disappointment with off sizing and poor material. With Cos (and Arket) I know what I’m getting and it meets and exceeds my expectations.

I think it's interesting that you'd have agreed at one point. It seems to me that, the more you see and wear COS, the more you can tell what's going to work for you. But I think you only get to that stage if you can get to a store regularly. I can't - once or twice a year is the most I manage. I really like the clothes but I the website remains unfathomable. And whenever I complain about it on here, someone will pop up to say they like it that way because it keeps it all kind of exclusive. That pisses me off.

I love Cos but I have to try a lot on before I find something that suits me (and also ask the assistants how it's meant to be worn!). It looks so different when tried on.

I've been a big Cos fan for years and would usually spend several £hundreds each season but all I've bought from them in the past 2.5 years is a navy cardigan.

I've found very little to like in their recent collections, the avant garde/'quirky' pieces were never for me but the good quality, minimalist bits in neutral/classic colours seem to have disappeared in favour of the quirk.

Maybe Arket is my more natural home these days and they're differentiating the brands down that line. I would still be sad to see Cos go but I think they need to bring back a bit more plain design and basic colourways.

I love clothes and Cos is one of my favourite shops, but I am so bored of fashion, and the ennui pre-dates the pandemic. I hate the downward-drift in quality, the increasing prices, and the uniformity of clothes. Everyone dressing alike, in increasingly utilitarian and androgynous clothing.

I’m absolutely yearning for a fashion happening, like Dior’s New Look. I remember being mesmerised by the satin, velvet and silk jersey collection that Tom Ford designed in the mid 1990s, and Matthew Williamson’s neons. We need someone to shake things up and have us rushing out to the shops.

because it keeps it all kind of exclusive

But the only way to know what suits you is to try the clothes on, the clothes are cut in a way that a high stylised website won’t convey either. Simpler is better, let the clothes speak for themselves. The only way I can see the website being improved is to have a 360 degree video.

What way would you like the website to be?

Good points @Alongcameacat