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The young, preppy look upon which Abercrombie & Fitch built its reputation has a grown-up sibling in the country club elegance of the retailer's Ruehl brand. Geared toward men and women aged 22-30, Ruehl casual sportswear stores are built to resemble a sophisticated Greenwich Village townhouse, complete with a brick facade and wrought iron fence.
When the clothing retailer needed a sophisticated audio system to match the intricate decor of the new Ruehl stores, Abercrombie & Fitch called on Essential Communications. "They had very specific ideas for creating a more seductive environment at Ruehl compared to the Abercrombie & Fitch locations," notes Essential Communications president David Schwartz. "Since Ruehl was replicating the interior of a Greenwich Village brownstone, we started by specifying bookshelf speakers for the individual rooms, and then worked backwards from there.
As with everything tailor-made, the visual details throughout the 8000 square feet of retail space in each identical Ruehl location were of vital importance, and Essential Communications certainly rose to the occasion. "They wanted a speaker that would look right – one that would be ‘speaker-looking’, not pretty or concealed – and we knew the Tannoy V8 would fit the bill. We did a live demo for Abercrombie & Fitch’s CEO and his team of key decision makers and got immediate approval to move ahead.
The Essential Communications team augmented the bookshelf speakers with Tannoy custom-designed, self-powered subwoofers. "Those are good-looking speakers, and we actually decided at one point that with their foam and large perforated metal grille, they looked too professional. So we went to Tannoy and got all the loudspeakers – 128 total for the five initial stores -- retrofitted with finer perforated metal grilles, which looked a bit more refined in the consumer environment.
Meticulous attention to detail went into the total listening experience offered in the luxe Ruehl spaces. Schwartz explained how each room was fine-tuned for the best possible sonic experience: "Because the rooms vary in size, shape and the type of clothes displayed, we had to consider things like seasonal changes of clothes. When you have light, airy summer clothes and then go to winter for coats and sweaters, the acoustics of the rooms will change.
Essential Communications created a well-fitted sonic pattern for the sound systems deployed at each Ruehl location, and then made slight onsite changes to each store and each room, making multiple visits to each room. "In fact, the day before the worst hurricane of the season, Ivan, hit Florida, we were flying in to Tampa to check a store when everyone else was getting out," Schwartz recalls. "That’s the kind of dedication and commitment that Abercrombie & Fitch expected from us, and we delivered that in all the stores.
Working with the Abercrombie & Fitch team on the nationwide roll-out of Ruehl stores over a two-year time-period was a milestone project for Essential Communications. "It was one of the most challenging projects I’ve worked on," Schwartz concludes. "Abercrombie & Fitch’s attention to detail was incredible. The CEO would walk through the store for QC inspections, make changes, and then wanted those changes implemented immediately. The result is a really positive shopping environment that sounds and looks terrific. We’re extremely proud that A&F chose Essential Communications to make the Ruehl vision a reality.
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