TM Lewin plans to open more physical stores

TM Lewin is to open more stores as the UK’s return to offices continues at pace and following its Bow Lane, City of London, flagship opening this spring.

It’s a major strategy change for the brand that had gone online-only after its pandemic-linked collapse that saw the closure of all its stores and more than one administration filing.

Formalwear is the key focus of the business and despite its diversification into more casual styles, it makes up around 70% of its total turnover. 

The return to offices is a boost for formalwear generally in the UK and means that key office destinations — such as the City of London — are once again important locations for formally-focused stores.

Dan Ferris, TM Lewin’s managing director, told The Times that the performance of the City store was what spurred the decision to open more locations.

“A big part of our three-year plan is to expand the real estate very quickly,” he told the newspaper. “We’re looking for another couple this year, and thereafter it’ll just be about opening as many additional outlets as we can.” 

He said that should mean more London stores as well as other business cities including Manchester and Edinburgh.

Pre-pandemic the 127-year-old label operated 150 stores globally but its stores were shut as the pandemic lockdown devastated its business, including all 66 UK sites closing.

The business first called in administrators in June 2020 and then again in 2022 and that recent history added complications to its comeback plan with Ferris saying that “it has made our lives much more difficult than a brand that didn’t have that history. We have to pay for a lot of inventory up front, for example, which makes cash conversion much longer than we’d want it to be.”

And he said landlords are “looking for deposits and you can’t argue with that”.

On the plus side, he said that despite the cost-of-living crisis, higher-priced items have been among the company’s best-performing products as shoppers look for quality: “When [customers are] buying a shirt or a suit, they really are seeking out that quality. So what we’re seeing is our top-end suits are performing really well for us. Where people are coming in, they’re willing to spend the money… [but] some of those lower to mid-tier suits aren’t performing as well as we might have hoped”.