Paul Smith Pietro Place Peter Jones

What I Like About Paul Smith

I like shopping and I actually prefer going to shops rather than surfing online.

As I get to travel, I am probably spoiled for choice.

One of my favorite shops is Paul Smith in London.  I started going to Paul Smith in the late 1970’s.  I loved the shirts and shoes from the very beginning.  It was a sort of cool, edgy, and a very “Londony” look.  As I was living in the States, it was a way  to keep myself in tune with England!

So, all those years ago and still, I go to Paul Smith when I am in London.  I love the tiny street in Covent Garden called Floral Street where the store is located. Everyone is helpful, trendy, and more or less my sons age!  Actually my son who lives in Washington DC, always asks me to buy him a shirt whenever I am passing through.  He even pays me back!

This past Christmas, I bought him a couple of shirts as a gift.  However, one of them, as he later discovered, still had the magnet attached and had escaped the alarms in the shop.  So the present wasn’t a present but rather a pain!  With no Paul Smith shops in DC or Boston, I knew I would be in London soon so I popped in armed with photos of the unusable shirt.  I chatted with a nice sales guy who had the deputy manager, Alex Sivyer, come down.  He assessed the situation, said, “Here’s what we will do.  Buy a shirt today.  It’s on us.  Bring the other one in whenever and well take the magnet off.  2 for 1!”

And that’s why I shop in Paul Smith.  I wish every store could be like that.  Great ethos, great people, and everyone obviously likes the guy who owns the place. Hats off to Paul Smith.  It’s not just about the clothes.  It is about the attitude and the culture towards the customer!

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