Charles Tyrwhitt sales jump as brand pivots to casual work attire

The retailer, which before the pandemic was focused on the sale of ties and blazers to office workers, said it now sees “growth in customers’ shopping baskets from more casual categories”.

The brand added that it has tapped “into the expansion of the modern man’s working wardrobe to become the go-to brand for dressing men for the work ‘day ahead’ from ‘suited and booted’ to ‘dress down Fridays’”.

Before the pandemic in 2020, the retailer’s turnover was around £220m, which fell to £100m during the height of lockdowns.

In the year to July 2023, the retailer’s sales jumped 45% to £269m with underlying profits up to £44m – from £16.6m the year before. Founder Nick Wheeler called it a “record year” for Charles Tyrwhitt.

The retailer has opened seven new stores over the last 18 months. It plans to open a 4,200 sq ft branch on Regent Street this week and is investing heavily in refitting and refurbishing a number of its stores, including in New York.

The firm said: “Charles Tyrwhitt is a changing brand that has experienced tremendous growth in the midst of consistently gloomy news in the retail industry – not many British businesses are backing bricks and mortar – or expanding with ambition – and success, to the same extent.”