Our Story

Our story

A shop on King Street

Mercer opened in 2014, in a narrow shopfront on King Street.

Helen had spent fifteen years buying womenswear for department stores, and had grown tired of watching good cloth get thinner every season while the prices went the other way. Mark came from a tailoring family and couldn't walk past a badly set shoulder without saying something about it.

They wanted a shop that sold fewer things, chosen better. Coats that would see a Manchester winter through. Knitwear that didn't bobble by February. Trousers that were cut properly, for men and women who'd stopped wanting to replace everything each year.

They called it Mercer — the old English word for a merchant of fine cloth.

No website, no advertising

For a long time, the only way to find us was to walk past.

A Saturday in town, a wander up King Street, a friend saying, "You want to have a look in there." People came in out of the rain and left with a coat. Then they came back the following autumn for the scarf to go with it.

We got to know our customers properly. Who ran warm and who ran cold. Who always went for navy. Which husband would be back in a fortnight for the jumper in the other colour.

That's how the shop has always worked, and it's how we'd like it to keep working.

The same question, over and over

"Do you have a website?"

We heard it most weeks. From people who'd moved away from Manchester and couldn't find the same thing anywhere else. From someone who came in once, didn't buy the coat, and thought about it for a year. From regulars who knew exactly what they wanted but couldn't get into town before closing.

For years the answer was no. We didn't have the setup, and we didn't want to do it badly.

So we built it

This year we decided the answer should be yes.

We spent the summer photographing every piece, measuring every size and writing every description ourselves. Not a stock photo or a copied paragraph in sight.

If it's hanging on King Street, it's here.

What hasn't changed

We still choose everything ourselves. We still look for good cloth, a proper cut and things that last more than one season. And we still read every email that comes in.

Not sure about a size? Tell us your usual size and how you like things to fit, and we'll tell you honestly which way a piece runs. Changed your mind? You've got thirty days to send it back.

The only difference is that you no longer need to be in Manchester to shop with us.

Welcome to Mercer

If you've been coming into the shop for years, thank you. You're the reason we're here.

And if you've only just found us, we're glad you did. We hope your first parcel feels a little like walking in out of the rain.

Helen & Mark
Mercer Manchester