Formalwear specialist TM Lewin is preparing to open two more stores as it bounces back following its post-administration relaunch and its return to physical retail last year.
TM Lewin, Canary Wharf
The company also said sales of formal clothing are strengthening with tie sales, for instance, rising more than 200% during the summer. But the business continues to offer casual options for its customers and sales are now evenly split among formal and casual clothing.
Next month, the brand will open a new store in Victoria, London, and one in the Bluewater mall in Kent.
Having closed its 66 stores in 202o, the last 18 months have seen openings in a number of key London locations including Bow Lane, Liverpool Street, Canary Wharf and the O2 Arena, as well as in St Albans.
And MD Dan Ferris told The Times the company is “continuing to look for expansion opportunities inside central London”, although he added that this is a challenge due to high rents.
The company once had as many as 150 stores but the trend towards more casual clothing at work meant a chain of that size wasn’t viable. The move to working from home during the pandemic set the seal on formalwear’s decline and the company went into administration in 2020, closing its remaining stores, with a further administrating filing in 2022.
But while the firm is reopening stores, Ferris told the newspaper that it wouldn’t open as many as it used to operate. He said the previous management “stretched the operations too thin, if I’m honest. We can get a lot of bang for our buck out of just getting those top-performing locations alongside a strong online presence.”
As for the mix between formal and casual clothing, Ferris explained that men want to buy smarter clothes again, both for work and for events. As mentioend, that has sent tie sales soaring with the death of that particular item having been frequently predicted but just as frequently avoided.
Ferris also said he would like to see the government offering more support for employing and training people, “particularly young people looking for first jobs”.
