ROYCE Launches Wearable Technology Collection in Selfridges

New York, NY, February 24, 2016 --(PR.com)-- Tradition. It’s a nice, cosy word, imbued with nostalgia, and a feeling of things going back to times far more sanguine than the frenetic existence of today. Indeed, Selfridges, which has been around for over a century, could probably claim a better understanding of the term than nearly any of its rivals in the commercial world. As a result, it is surely aware how tradition, misunderstood, can stagnate a company.

As, for that matter, is ROYCE. About to enjoy the privilege of entering into partnership with Selfridges with its groundbreaking located based tracking bag collection, ROYCE’s CEO, Andrew Royce Bauer, knows better than to use tradition as an excuse for stagnation.

“Every advance in technology is a business opportunity,” he says. “There is no limit to how far we will go to provide our customers with the comfort and security we think they deserve.”

But what makes this product quite the first of its kind is ROYCE’s refusal to let security impinge on fashion. The collection bridges traditional luxury accessories with contemporary, 21st century technology to create styles for the forward-thinking consumer by offering discreet protection coupled with a slim, sleek silhouettes, hand-milled hardware, and genuine Saffiano leather. RFID Blocking Technology to thwart electronic identity theft, which affects over 20 million British shoppers according to the Daily Mail, reaffirms the security of this collection.

But then again, ROYCE isn’t an ordinary company either. Founded in America while having Austrian family values in its veins, it has valued integrity, honesty, and hard work above all else, including even business profitability. Every one of ROYCE’s workers feel they own a small part of the company, owing to the egalitarianism at the workplace, and that, believes Managing Director William Bauer, has been instrumental to its success.

“I don’t need to look at our balance sheets to know when we’ve had a good year. If our people have been motivated, respected and dedicated, that finds a way of showing up in our accounting statements.”

Add to that the tradition of craftsmanship embedded deep right through the ROYCE family tree, elegance mixed with pragmatism, honesty combined with fierce competitiveness, and it isn’t hard to see why a small family business has lasted the test of tough economic times, and the often-fickle fashion world.

This latest collection, which makes the shelves at Selfridges, is vindication of how this small business is mixing it with retailing giants. ROYCE founder Kathy Bauer has a simple explanation for it. “We might not have the highest budgets, but the best ideas and concepts don’t cost a dime. Your own imagination is your worthiest asset, and believe we can mix it with the best in that department.”

The partnership between ROYCE and Selfridges is a natural one. According to Director of Menswear Bosse Myhr, "We here at Selfridges always enjoy working with new brands to introduce innovative projects to the market. The wearable technology collection from ROYCE is a perfect example of a product that combines the best of traditional and future-gazing ideals.

Harry Gordon Selfridge famously once proclaimed, “Develop imagination, throw away routine”. This sentiment has manifested into a “shopping experience that promises to surprise, amaze and amuse its customers by delivering extraordinary customer experiences.”

Mr. Myhr agrees with the erudition of the company’s namesake founder, “It’s important for Selfridges to be at the forefront of fashion and we see developments in wearable tech as central to this movement. ROYCE is pioneering product that teams tech with imagination – the opportunity here is exciting and one we are very pleased to be part of.”

While Mr. Selfridge might not have had ROYCE in mind when he offered that simple, yet sage advice, but were he to look across the pond today, he would find his beloved organisation has much in common with its new American partner, who, in turn, have reaped rich rewards from heeding the great entrepreneur’s words. This is simply the next logical step.