Moss Bros chief executive Brian Brick has laid out his immediate focus for the business, after taking up the reins permanently at the menswear retailer.

Brick, former boss of rival menswear group Speciality Retail Group, told Retail Week that he would target improvements in stores and bolster his store-focused teams.

The retailer has restructured its regional managers team introducing a “couple of people” and has added to its visual merchandising teams.

“The stores are getting more focused,” said Brick, who took on the permanent role of chief executive last week. He became interim chief executive in January after the departure of Philip Mountford.

The retailer, which was due to report its preliminary results as Retail Week went to press, will focus on improving merchandising, buying, visual merchandising and product mix in stores.

“There is a good business here to be had,” he said. “We are going to do the simple things and do them well. We have our franchise business and we will build on this.”

Brick said that in line with other retailers in the present climate, Moss Bros would cut costs in some areas to enable it to achieve its proposed strategy, but declined to comment on specifics.

“We are looking at our processes and taking some out of the business,” he said. He added that there will be some natural wastage as people who leave the business will not be replaced.

Brick said the retailer has a strong balance sheet and is ungeared, which will help it trade through the downturn.

Moss Bros shareholders will be hoping that Brick’s appointment signals a period of stability for the retailer, which had been embroiled in shareholders in-fighting.

“We are on a very even keel,“ said Brick. “All those issues are behind the business.”