Conversation with… Rowland Gee
Rowland Gee is nothing short of a retail legend. His career has spanned working in his family’s business, Cecil Gee, to the boardroom of Moss Bros and bringing Hugo Boss to the UK high street. Over decades, he’s been at the forefront of UK fashion, brand building, and high street regeneration. In this latest Conversations interview, he shares the stories, strategies, and lessons from a lifetime shaping British retail.
You’ve had the most fantastic career. Can you start by telling us about the early days?
My career really began when I was about ten years old, when my dad was running Cecil Gee, the business he had started in the late 1920s. I’d go around with him, looking at shop windows and absorbing everything about the trade. Life around the dinner table was full of stories from the day – the good, the bad, the challenging.
My brothers and I were naturally drawn to the business. By the time we came along post-war, it had developed enough that we could understand it – and get excited about what was happening, especially as fashion evolved through the sixties.
So, the spark came at a very young age. When did you first get hands-on?
When I left school, I was studying in the sixth form but decided not to go to university which was quite common then. Instead, I went straight into the business. I was sent off to Paris to brush up on my French and immerse myself in fashion. Pierre Cardin was making waves at the time, moving away from the post-war, shapeless men’s clothing and introducing more structured, form-conscious pieces.
That must have been quite an education
It really was. I was meant to stay two years, and I’d come back to London from time to time for fashion shows. People would say, “Rowland, you’ve lost weight!” and I’d say, “No, it’s just the new silhouette!” That was the effect of the new tailoring coming from designers like Cardin. It was a very exciting time to be there. I learned so much about how different continental Europe was in terms of style and retail.
About 15 months in, my father had a serious heart attack. My elder brother had just qualified as an accountant, and he called me and said, “Rowland, you’ve got to come home. Dad’s not well. We need you.” I was put straight into the Cecil Gee buying department as an assistant buyer.
Thankfully, I’d already had some grounding. Before Paris, I’d worked in our warehouse to learn about stock control, quality, and product management. So, I felt ready. I joined the team, worked under some excellent people, and worked my way up.
That’s when I got more involved in design, too. In the mid to late sixties, everyone in the trade fancied themselves as a bit of a designer! It was Swinging London and British design was exploding. People from all over the world were flying in to sign UK designers. Having a British designer on board was a major selling point, even for overseas brands.
When I was around 19, we had just opened a shop on the King’s Road, Chelsea which had become this international hub. People were coming from all over the world. It was an exciting time. The King’s Road actually looks great again today – it’s been through its ups and downs, but now it’s full of independents and fresh energy.
Back then, we started something called the Cecil Gee Design Consultancy. It was born out of an understanding that the industry was changing. We also joined the Clothing Export Council, a body that supported British manufacturers to export abroad.
But I was really working on my own at first. I said to my parents, “We need a designer to help us develop collections.” My mother suggested reaching out to Janie Ironside, who was Head of Fashion at the Royal College of Art. Janie loved the idea and helped us organise a design competition.
We decided that the winner would join the Cecil Gee Design Consultancy. Janie brought in some impressive judges – including Cecil Beaton, believe it or not. I still have a photo of my father and Beaton looking at student designs laid out on the floor.
The winner was Gail Ansell, who went on to become Lady Lilly, wife of the former minister Peter Lilley. Gail was terrific – her work helped us secure over 30 accounts. She brought creative flair – we even hosted fashion shows at the Carlton Tower rooftop. Of course, the collections had to be more commercial, but the creative edge got people talking.
Eventually, when the senior buying director I worked under left to open his own shop, I stepped up. I took over the buying and later became buying director myself.
And how did the journey take you to Moss Bros?
In the mid to late eighties, we were doing very well. We’d discovered Hugo Boss during the 1970s recession and their clothes were flying off the shelves in our stores.
We had shops on Bond Street and Sloane Street. International shoppers, particularly from Iran and the Middle East, loved London and our stores. Watches, suits, casinos… they were enjoying everything London had to offer.
At the time, taxation in the UK was incredibly high – up to 90% on income. So, we decided to open a store on Rodeo Drive in LA, which had a large Iranian community.
Wasn’t that difficult with currency controls?
Yes, you couldn’t just send capital abroad – we had to get approval from the Bank of England, which we did. We opened the store just as Margaret Thatcher won the election and removed capital controls, ironically!
The LA store did OK, but our big mistake was none of us wanted to live there. People in LA love buying from the “boss” – they want that connection. Without that presence, we lost momentum.
In 1987/88, Moss Bros approached us. They saw us as progressive – we had strong brands, great design, and were financially solid. Their chairman, Wilfred Cass, was brought in to turn the company around. Moss had 120 stores, but their management was very traditional.
Wilfred said, “We want your ideas and energy.” And they made me Managing Director.
That must have been a major shift
It was. We had three key divisions: Cecil Gee, Savoy Taylors Guild, and The Suit Company (an in-house Moss Bros brand).
We took the business to record profits. And in the mid-nineties, I convinced the board to launch the first Hugo Boss store in the UK – right on London’s Regent Street.
It was a bold move. Especially because the Hugo Boss team initially wanted Sloane Street. But I said, “Boss is a premium mainstream brand – £300 to £400 suits. Regent Street is where your customers are.”
Convincing the Crown Estate to give us space wasn’t easy. They were backing mono-brand stores at the time, and I was competing with 32 other brands for the unit next to Hamleys.
But we did something unique. My colleague created a moving image pitch – a customer walking through the store, spinning, ascending – all quite advanced for the mid-nineties. The Crown Estate loved it. We got the shop.
We worked with Dalziel & Pow on the shopfront and interiors. We even challenged Hugo Boss’s own store design – too much wood! They eventually agreed to adopt our concept.
And the best part? Our concept boosted their wholesale business. When buyers from Harrods and Selfridges saw the full Boss range in action, they ordered more. Exactly as we predicted.
By the mid-nineties, we built that into 17 Hugo Boss stores. Some people on the board questioned the investment – we were spending close to £1 million per store. But we had the money. We never borrowed a penny. We had sold the Covent Garden corner unit, which strengthened our balance sheet.
One of my father’s favourite sayings came from Hamlet: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” And I took that to heart. Too many retailers get addicted to debt and think they’re invincible. I’ve always believed in growing from strength, not risk.
That philosophy clearly worked. What happened to the Boss stores later?
Eventually, Hugo Boss bought them back from Moss Bros, around 15 years ago. And since then, they’ve evolved from a brand led by formalwear to casual-first. In our time, it was the opposite. But even back then, we could see casualwear on the rise.
Your career has been incredible. You’ve helped shape modern retail. You co-wrote a book in 2019. Can you tell us more about that?
A few of us put together something called the Retail Start-Up Book.
I stepped down as CEO of Moss Bros but stayed on the board as a Non-Executive Director for six years. During that time, I co-founded an initiative called Grey for Gold, which focused on mentoring and advising start-ups.
Then we partnered with the National Skills Academy for Retail. They rolled out workshops to over 70 towns, using a training programme designed by Mary Portas. But it was too long – seven parts – and hard for small businesses to commit to.
So, I was asked to boil it down. We did. That became the foundation of the Retail Start-Up Book which covered the three core areas of Buying & Merchandising, Finance & Control, and Marketing. We called it the three-legged stool as everything a small retail business needs to balance.
And that led to your current project, the Inspire the High Street consultancy business
Yes, it got us into councils up and down the country – Shropshire, Cherwell, the Welsh Government. In some places, we ended up acting like town centre managers.
I’ve also been active around the High Street Rental Auction. Councils now have the power to step in when shops sit empty. If a landlord isn’t doing anything with a property, they can auction it off to someone who will, unless the landlord sorts a better deal first. It’s about bringing life back to the high street. Giving new entrepreneurs a start. But implementation has been painfully slow.
I’m pleased to say that Kent County Council has asked me to come to Maidstone in August and help them use HSRA to revive coastal towns.
But these days, I enjoy a multi-disciplinary life. One day it’s Shoklite Company – a retail development project. The next, it’s working with Kensington & Chelsea Council on underused high street spaces.
I’m also a non-executive for several fashion companies, including Jonny Drama, which is run by Robert de Keyser and his daughter Lara.
And what are your thoughts on today’s high streets?
There’s a myth out there that “the high street is dead.” I don’t buy it. We’ve done work with councils like Cherwell and Shropshire, and every time we’ve engaged the community, the message is clear: people want their high street back.
We used empty shops as feedback hubs. Local consumers, landlords, retailers – they all came in and stuck notes on the wall saying what they wanted. We analysed the notes every evening, and time and time again the result was the same: “We want a local, thriving high street.”
So, if you’re a young entrepreneur and, say, you want to open a babywear shop, go and study where there’s a demographic fit. Maybe it’s a coastal town with older people buying for their grandchildren. Identify a gap, research your competitors, find the right town and go for it. But go smart. No shortcuts.
What other advice would you give to people looking to set up a retail business today?
The first thing I’d say is understand your market. There’s so much data available now – Office for National Statistics, online trend reports, consumer behaviour analysis. You have to know what sectors are growing and which are in decline.
So, choose a rising segment, not one that’s fading. Then go further: really study your market, understand your customer, and become an expert before doing anything else.
Do the groundwork. And read good books. One I always recommend is “Made in America: My Story” by Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. It’s the best business book I’ve ever read. It’s not a dry textbook – it’s a love letter to customers and retail. Walton put the customer first in everything. That mindset is gold.
Would you say the challenges today are different from when you started?
The tools and pace have changed, but the principles haven’t. When you look at brands like Hugo Boss, Armani, Zegna, Canali, and Brunello Cucinelli – many are still family-run. Even Louis Vuitton is part of a family-run empire under Monsieur Arnault.
And these leaders are still on the shop floor. Arnault goes to Le Bon Marché in Paris every Saturday. It’s like Fortnum & Mason on steroids – the highest-end food and lifestyle store you’ve ever seen. And every Saturday morning, he checks in with the store manager. “What’s selling? What’s not?”
That’s what retail demands. You’ve got to stay connected to the product, to the people, to the place. That’s why I love stories like Fortnum’s windows – absolute showstoppers. Retail is theatre, and leadership is presence.
Where did your brothers fit in during your journey?
My older brother Michael was a chartered accountant. When Moss Bros took over, I was happy to work within a larger structure – I liked the collaboration, the diversity of skills. But Michael wasn’t as keen on that change. He eventually left and managed a charitable trust from his late father-in-law’s estate. He stayed on as a non-exec for a few years, which was great. His advice was always spot-on.
My younger brother Nigel, a trained solicitor, never practised law. After qualifying, he immediately joined the family business. He had a terrific eye for design, and together we ran the buying team. When we merged with Moss Bros, Nigel became head of the fashion division while another colleague ran the classic side. We both eventually stepped back from our full-time roles around the same time.
But we all still see each other. I see Michael most often at the Arsenal as I’m a lifelong season ticket holder. Back in the day, David Dein, former Arsenal chairman, used to ring me before every cup final: “Rowland – we need suits!”
You have two sons, have the followed you into retail?
Not exactly. Alex, my eldest, has co-founded a company called Reaper Enterprises that designs and manages websites.
Nick, my younger son, helps to manage Network Rail’s 19 shopping centres in UK stations. Big job! We’ve always admired the perfectionist approach of Westfield and that’s what he’s bringing to rail retail. He’s even launched something called Operation Shine. Spot a dead fly on the floor? It’s gone in minutes. That’s the Westfield way.
