Rob Moore

Rob has spent more than two decades in menswear — buying for one of the world's most famous department stores, among other adventures, prior to opening The Rake in Newcastle in 2023. Here he talks Harrods, why he started his own shop, and what pre-owned means for the future of the store.

Let's start at the beginning. How did you first get into menswear?

Growing up in the UK and Ireland, I was surrounded by people who gave a shit about what they wore. The music scene, football and going to the pub was as much about the clothes as anything else, and given that I didn't pay any attention in school I needed a job with a low barrier to entry. Retail sales assistant, perfect. I was a good kid but would have been a nightmare to manage. Questioning everything, criticizing the buyers, critiquing the product but I loved it. It was just in my nature to search for the best version of whatever the thing was. I had no idea about anything but I had a commercial eye and built trust very quickly. There was no denying it, I was a retailer.

You spent time as a menswear buyer at Harrods, in a list of sprawling adventures, prior to starting The Rake. What did that role teach you?

Where to start. Harrods taught me an incredible amount. When to talk and very importantly, when to shut the fuck up. It re-enforced my natural instinct that good enough is absolutely not good enough. I built lifelong friendships and relationships within the industry that I still lean on to this day. 

It also taught me a lot about product knowledge. At that level, customers expect you to have thought of everything and to have all the answers. It's hard to balg it for long, you've got to know your shit. 

What made you want to start your own store, and why Newcastle?

The reason I started The Rake was simple — I wanted to build the shop I couldn't find anywhere else. Newcastle has taste and culture that I don't think gets enough credit outside the city, and there wasn't a store here doing what I wanted to do: international brands with provenance, curated with the same care you'd expect to see somewhere much bigger.

Hunter Street and the East End is coming back to life and we want to be in the heart of the city. We're a boutique store so it's about cultivating long term relationships with our customers not about selling volume. It's a twenty-five minute conversation with most people who come in, not a cash and wrap transaction, and that's exactly the kind of shop I set out to build.

The Rake now includes the Archive, a pre-owned marketplace. What's the thinking behind that?

Good clothing should outlast one owner. The best Menswear is designed and built to be worn for years, so it made sense to build somewhere those pieces could find a second life instead of sitting in a wardrobe. It's also just a nice way to make the brands we love more accessible at a different price point.

After twenty-plus years in the industry, what's changed the most?

Access, mainly. When I started buying, if you didn't have a physical store, manufacturers wouldn't even take your call. Now anyone with an Instagram account and a good idea can get a brand off the ground, which is genuinely exciting — though it does mean there's a lot more to sort through to find the people doing something properly.

What's next for The Rake?

Mostly just doing what we already do, better. More Archive sellers, more of the brand relationships we've built over the years, and keeping the store as a destination, a place people can discover new things and feel part of a community with shared values.