Whistles moves back into profit

Contemporary fashion chain Whistles has moved back into the black under the ownership of TFG Brands (London), part of South Africa's The Foschini Group, which acquired the business in 2016.

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.

Online grew by 28% during the period, which was driven by both the brand's own website and that of online partners, such as ASOS and Zalando.

Whistles currently has 45 standalone stores and 79 concessions in department stores including John Lewis, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Fenwick and House of Fraser. Its menswear line is only available via its website and one central London store.

TFG Brands (London) recently undertook a restructure of the management of its UK-based brands, which also include Hobbs and Phase Eight. This led to Whistles brand director Helen Williamson being promoted to the role of managing director. Former managing director Justin Hampshire was transferred to head up Hobbs replacing outgoing CEO Meg Lustman.

Simon Pickering, formerly buying and merchandising director of House of Fraser, joined the group as managing director of Phase Eight