ano, Harrolds’ 39-year track record of attracting both international prestige brands and luxury clients made buying the business more desirable than starting a new luxury department store. However, Enayat said the conversation with the Poulakis family to acquire the name was “not easy”. “The process was a very honest and open discussion with the family,” he told Inside Retail. “We are very grateful to the family that they accepted our offer, giving us the trademark so that we can do what we need to do,” he added. Enayat believes that his and Pagano’s many years of experience in the business helped them in the acquisition process, giving the Poulakis family peace of mind that they were trustworthy buyers and guardians of the brand. Building on a legacy The new joint managing directors, Enayat and Pagano, have their own storied history with the retailer. Enayat was Harrolds’ retail store manager for 15 years, while Pagano was the state manager for 18 years.  Not only will Harrolds 2.0 return to its old Sydney store location, but its first 10 hires for the relaunch are all previous Harrolds employees, a decision that Enayat believes is key to the future success of the retailer. “We have been told by clients that our customer service is unfortunately not available anywhere else other than Harrolds,” Enayat explained. “The way we treat those clients, the way we look after them, the way we provide them with brands that are not available and accessible in Australia,” he added. The ability to make decisions that honour Harrolds’ past to ensure a successful future motivated Enayat and Pagano to not take outside investment.  “We want to make the business amazing again, as it was for 39 years, and we need to make the right decisions without asking investors for approvals around decision-making,” Enayat shared. Moving the fashion culture Harrolds 2.0 will offer everything from luxury men’s suiting to weekend wear to swimwear, with a luxury brand mix that can’t be replicated by other Australian retailers. The retailer will stock international brands that it has worked with in the past, including Rick Owens, Lardini and Thom Browne, and introduce new brands to the Australian market, including Italian labels Isaia and Maurizio Baldassari. “That goes back to the process that we had with Lardini. People didn’t know of Lardini when we brought it back to Australia, and today everybody appreciates Lardini,” Enayat stated. “We are going to move the luxury menswear market forward by bringing more brands to Australia that they haven’t seen,” he continued. According to Enayat, Harrolds 2.0 had no trouble re-establishing relationships and re-securing partnerships with international fashion houses after the company’s high-profile liquidation in October 2024. “Since Gino and I were involved in buying, we had the trust from the brands from the past – and our vision that we have shown to them was very clear and goal driven,” Enayat said. “They were super excited, actually, that we are back.”  Now, the new Harrolds owners are focussed on bringing clients back into store, and offering them the garments they want with the customer service to which they have become accustomed.