Career
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. 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 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 United States stores, including stores in Boston, San Francisco, Washington, District of Columbia, and Los Los Angeles Additional stores opened in Short Hills, New Jersey and Boca Raton, Florida.
