TM Lewin has appointed former N Brown chief executive Alan White as its new non-executive chairman to help with its online expansion plans.  

TM Lewin

White, who stepped down from N Brown in 2013 after 25 years, will take up the part-time, advisory role at the 117-year-old menswear retailer with immediate effect.

He replaces Tony Campbell, who it emerged left privately-owned TM Lewin in July after nine years as non-exec chairman. Ecommerce director Andrew Mossman and creative director John Francomb exited at the same time as Campbell, with no reason given for their departure.

White, who stepped down from the board of Topps Tiles last December, told Retail Week that he regarded TM Lewin as an “exciting business to get involved with” as it looks to expand its multichannel offer.

In its last full-year TM Lewin reported a pre-tax profit of £636,000, up from a loss of £1.4m the previous year. However, sales were flat at £106.8m.

“I was a customer of TM Lewin in the days when I wore a shirt and tie every day, and I’m keen to work with a business with ambitious growth plans in the multichannel space,” he said.

White is also chairman of footwear retailer Hotter and a non-executive director at Direct Wines.

TM Lewin has around 95 stores in the UK and Australia, plus around 90 franchise stores in the Middle East, Africa, India and southeast Asia.

Chief executive Geoff Quinn led a £100m full management buyout, backed by Sankaty Advisors, an affiliate of Bain Capital, last month. Quinn led a first management buyout in May 2006.