Weird Fish is to embark on an “aggressive” expansion plan that will see its store numbers grow and its international business develop.

Weird Fish photoshoot

The outdoor lifestyle fashion brand has brought in former Crew Clothing boss David Butler to pursue new growth, acording to The Times

The new chief executive reportedly wants to “emulate” what he did at during his seven years at Crew Clothing where he doubled turnover to more than £120m and expanded its retail footprint by almost 30% to 100 stores. 

Butler also has ambitions to grow Weird Fish’s wholesale and international businesses.

Weird Fish operates 26 stores across the UK and has 300 stockists including Next and John Lewis. It has been backed by Total Capital since it was bought from Piper Private Equity in 2017. 

Butler was chief executive at Crew Clothing until May this year, departing shortly after its owner rejected a management buyout proposal. Prior to Crew, he spent six years as European managing director for footwear brand Ecco. 

Butler told The Times the growth plan will be “driven aggressively by store expansion through concessions, shop openings and partners” and he believed Weird Fish was a “well established and well regarded business that has never realised its full potential”.