A tale of two cities: an examination of fashion designer retailing within London and New York Available to Purchase

The focus of this paper is two‐fold. First, it examines the growth strategies adopted by fashion design houses to transform and reposition their businesses from relatively small, niche‐market and privately‐owned companies to stock market listed conglomerates which produce fashion and lifestyle products aimed at a lucrative and international middle retailing market. The second is to consider the geographical implications of these strategies as illustrated through an examination of their locational impact on London and New York. The findings of this research suggest that both cities have experienced unprecedented and parallel patterns of development, apparently as a result of the aggressive expansion activities of fashion designer companies. As such, the paper highlights the impact of internationalisation and strategic growth at the micro environmental level.