Whistles confirms exit from menswear market
Whistles has confirmed it is exiting the menswear market and the collection currently on sale on its website will be its last.
The premium fashion retailer entered the menswear space tentatively in 2014, under its previous ownership. It first opened a dedicated menswear entrance to its Redchurch Street store in East London before opening a standalone men's store on Shoreditch's Boundary Street in 2016. The collection was also sold online.
However a spokeswoman for the brand's current owner TFG Brands (London) has confirmed that the line had been discontinued in order that it can focus on its womenswear business, which has been returned to profit.
TFG Brands (London), part of South Africa's The Foschini Group, which also owns Hobbs and Phase Eight, acquired Whistles in 2016 from Mundur, an Icelandic investment company.
It was revealed last month that Whistles had been returned to profit. In the 12 months to end of March 2018, the business achieved sales up 16.1% at £68.5m compared the prior 52-week period. It also converted a loss of £1.6m into a profit (EBITDA) of £5m thanks to strong sales and a period of streamlining the business to remove loss-making outlets and reduce costs.
