Danier Death-Knell? - YouLookFab Forum

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Danier Death-Knell?

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Say it ain't so!

But look! I have also suggested this for link love. Though really I want to click double plus un-love.

So sad for us Canadians....

I wonder if the poor weather really was the cause of the troubles. Fascinating to think that weather could affect retailing almost as much as farming! This year I note there are many, many more puffers on offer at the store. And, just Danier's luck—we have had an unusually mild and relatively snow-free winter in the east so far.

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35 replies

Latest reply was from Michelle

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Also want to add that in my opinion whoever designed their "new" website deserves a good part of the blame. It is crazy frustrating to use, does not include half the merchandise, and does not show the clothes to any advantage. Ugh.

Tina

Veteran

Fellow Canadian commiserating right along with you:-(
I have numerous momentos.

Helena

Veteran

Suz, it's too bad ... Canadian fashion retailers are having a rough ride, that's for sure!

Peri

Veteran

They should have shipped to the US...we could have helped them stay in business! There have been a few things over the years that I would have gladly bought.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

Wow, those are some awful numbers and a disturbing thought of things to come if the economy keeps heading the direction it seems to be heading worldwide.Stores on the high end and on the low end seem to be struggling in retail these days.

Joyce B

Veteran

That's such a shame, it's such a good store. I got some beautiful leather jackets there last summer. The bad thing about buying from them from the US was that you had to pay US 50 for return shipping. That saved me a lot of money because I was not willing to pay so much for returning merchandise.
I hope they will find a good buyer, I love their merchandise.

Anonymous

Textyle-- I wonder why the stores on the low end would be suffering.
I'm sad to see them go too. They had nice merchandise for a great price.

Anonymous

I'm hoping someone will buy the company or provide them with an influx of cash to regroup. They had the right product - most of the time - it was their pricing/business model I found mystifying (stock hits the fall already "on sale" etc). However, an entire store for leather goods may not be viable anymore either - the popularity of their look always waxed and waned. You notice how very few other well-known brands/labels include leather outerwear or indoor jackets ....

Maybe their pricing model eventually did them in , when consumers have no basis for determining the value or "real" price of an item, they hesitate to buy it? Or, their lack of a fashion-forward (their bags were up-to-date and current but a lot of the jackets were repeats of very old and tired looking styles ) statement and rising prices finally turned off their mall-shopping customer. If I were them, i"d go higher end with more fashion forward merchandise and target a different consumer. But I have no money to invest , so I'll keep quiet

Anyways - it is highly interesting, and the retail scene is a pretty scary one right now.

Ha - just read this article below after writing all of my bs above. Oh well, I love doing my own business analyses

http://business.financialpost......nada-led-t...

Elizabeth P

Veteran

Well, I've been doing my best to help the dissolve their assets! Three purses, two pairs of gloves, two wallets on Sunday. And another purse the weekend before...

I also wonder why they made it so difficult for the US customer base to access them. A few degrees further south would be prime leather jacket weather. But what do I know?

Anonymous

Taking one for the team - way to go Elizabeth!

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

What Peri said. I didn't even think you could order from them from the US, or I would have tried.

I'd actually had them on my list for "next time I get to Canada" - fingers crossed someone acquires them and keeps them going.

Style Fan

Veteran

I am sad to see a Canadian retailer suffer. I have one suede jacket from Danier that was a gift 20 years ago. I did have 2 leather coats from Danier that I gave away. I rarely wore them. We never get the right weather to wear leather jackets in Ontario! Don't get me started on the suede jacket.

Why didn't they ship to the US! It must be the customs thing.

Joyce B

Veteran

They do ship to the US. You just need to order by phone as their website does not handle international orders. The shipping cost is not too bad (around 20 US) but they do not give shipping discounts for returns, those cost 50 dollars no matter from where in the US you are sending them (returns from Buffalo NY which is right there cost the same as returns from anywhere in the country because it is international shipping). The real problem for me was the cost of returning something.

Peri

Veteran

They ship the leather things to the US, but not clothes. I would have bought a few tops, but leather coats seem too risky for online shopping with hefty return fees.

Joy

Veteran

So sad. So much inexpensive faux leather available may not have helped.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I think I'm going to have to visit an actual store before they all close...would love to pick up a few items but find the online store too difficult. Thanks for the commiseration and analysis, all! And way to go, Elizabeth!

elpgal

Veteran

I bought from them and they do ship to the US - for a bag they charged $25 in shipping fees. They shipped me a bag without taking out the security sensor and wanted me to send it back and refund me for shipping. I spent about $40 USD shipping it back and they credited me back in Canadian dollars! .This was particularly when the exchange rate was low. When I pointed this out to them, they pretty much ignored my emails. So, yeah great bags but strange return practices.

Mac

Veteran

I never shopped there but still, in this era of ever-increasing globalisation, I am sad to see yet another Canadian brand disappear.

Keix

Veteran

Oh no! I made a point to shop Danier for a leather jacket last year when I was visiting Vancouver. I just wore that jacket today--a lightweight leather blazer that will be perfect for my cold office and cool evenings this summer. I am in CA though, very different weather from Danier's home turf.

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Deborah

Veteran

Incredibly sad to read this. I have one item, thanks to the lovely ElizabethP from Danier (not a leather item tho) and I love it. I often lovingly browse their website.

jenanded

Veteran

Oh nooooo.... I am coming to Canada soon and Danier was top of my shopping list!

Jules

Veteran

Ok I finally get it (I think) - it's not that their classic styles were in direct competition with puffers, but that puffers have become the new status, investment pieces, while leather jackets are not particularly trendy right now overall, despite what we might wear on ylf... Consumers are making different choices about where to invest.
As for shipping practices, welcome to our world of overseas orders!!! They weren't really set up for American customers, just trying to make it work for eager customers, I suspect. For them to set up an American shipping warehouse, etc, the way the Gap has here, would probably have been prohibitive especially with the bad exchange rate (all American expenses would be very high relative to their Canadian spending power). The cross-border issues are not easy to resolve, even powerhouse Zappos abandoned their Canadian effort.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Jules, I think you hit the nail on the head. This return and shipping is more or less what we expect here in Canada but to our US neighbours it is unthinkable and apart from those on YLF who hear us Canadians complaining all the time, most Americans are not even aware of it at all; anyone caught up in this would be furious.

And yes, maybe that's it -- puffers are "where it's at" (and where it needed to be at, given recent weather trends) so hello Canada Goose, goodbye, Danier. Something like that.

Ginkgo

Veteran

Very disappointed to hear this as I had looked forward to visiting their store on my next trip to Vancouver.

kkards

Veteran

Canadians, I have a question about something I read in Suz's link...is it usual that a Canadian company would pay for its goods in US dollars? it seemed strange to me....it seems as if they also got caught up in the economics of the exchange rate....

Anonymous

They are likely committing to their production costs in Asia in US dollars, which is common. US currency is seen as the standard for trading.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Very sad. I have a very old Danier leather jacket, that is still going strong. I hope all those people find new jobs soon.

kkards

Veteran

lisap thanks.....i guess i assumed that only country's with unstable currencies used the US dollar.

jenanded

Veteran

For those of us outside the USA, borderfree and other organisations charge extraordinary prices for shipping -$120 shipping and return on a pair of shoes from Nordies for example (think Gap, JCre etc are the same).The rate is $6 to and from the UK which is further away....

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