David Reiss (fashion retailer)
Quick Facts
Biography
David Anthony Reiss (born May 1943) is the founder of the British global fashion chain Reiss, which originated from a store in Bishopsgate that David inherited from his father, Joshua Reiss. The original store was started by David's granduncle Samuel Reiss (born 1903), who was an immigrant from a south-eastern Polish shtetl in Radomyśl Wielki. In London, David's grandfather's family became members of the orthodox Raleigh Close (Hendon United Synagogue).
Early life
David Anthony Reiss was born in May 1943.
Career
David took over his father's gentlemen's outfitters on the corner of Bishopsgate and Petticoat Lane in the City of London, in 1971, when he was in his 20s. The brand is not a family-run business as such. Reiss's son is a director at HSBC, and his daughter Debra worked for the chain in Los Angeles until her death in 2015. David's eldest daughter was involved in the business for many years before leaving in her 30s to concentrate on her children. Reiss lives with his wife in Hampstead, London.
Today Reiss is the last big owner-founder entrepreneur left in British retail. Reiss has a target to open 260 stores around the world, including 100 franchise stores (the company has already signed a deal for 40 in Europe, the Far East and the Middle East), and 50 stand-alone stores in Europe and the United States. The debut in New York City proved a success, recouping the money Reiss invested in just one year, which made Reiss continue pursuing his international plans and in 2007 the retailer boasted eight more US stores, including stores in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Additional stores opened in Short Hills, New Jersey and Boca Raton, Florida.
In April 2016, a majority stake was sold to the American private equity firm Warburg Pincus for £230 million.
Personal life
Reiss is married, with three children, Ally, Debbie and Darren, and lives in Hampstead, London. His "only extravagance" is a Bentley.
His daughter Debra died suddenly in 2015 from a "long-term illness".