Troubled tailor TM Lewin has collapsed for the second time in two years – putting 100 jobs at risk.
The upmarket shirt maker, which had a shop in Market Street, Newcastle, is victim to the shift away from formal clothing, as more workers embrace hybrid or home working. The business was devastated by the Covid lockdowns and has struggled since.
The brand, which claims to have sold 70 million shirts since it started in London in 1898, had to call in administrators after being unable to complete a payment to its lenders. Lewin was rescued by Torque Brands in May 2020, but just a month after the deal was completed it was plunged into administration with £16 million of outstanding debt. Torque bought back the brand and continued to operate the business online.
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It has now placed TM Lewin into administration again, appointing advisers Interpath Advisory. It will run the business and look for a buyer for TM Lewin’s brand and assets.
The pandemic has had a devastating effect on many clothing businesses, as office workers stayed away from cities and wore casual clothes as they worked from their kitchen tables. The traditional man's suit was even ditched in favour of a formal jacket or blazer only in the Office for National Statistics annual basket, and the addition of a sports bra in the annual inflation measure reflects the fact that more people are working at the kitchen table and have switched to a wardrobe of casual and sportswear instead of power dressing.
Department stores also felt the pain, with retail giants Marks and Spencer and John Lewis both announcing store closures after lockdown. The North East was not affected by the raft of Marks and Spencer store closures last year, although the region had already lost stores in Durham city centre and Darlington in 2018, as part of an earlier plan.
John Lewis announced that eight of its stores would not reopen last year, but its department store in Eldon Square, Newcastle, was unaffected. Many other iconic clothing stores have however disappeared after the collapse of Philip Green's Arcadia retail empire in 2020, and their shops have gone from North East high streets for ever.
Debenhams
The 241-year-old retailer entered administration in 2021 but attempts to save its stores ran into 2021. Online clothing retailer Boohoo eventually purchased the Debenhams name and website in a £55million deal in March 2021, but it did not save the stores - or jobs - in Newcastle, Metrocentre, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.
Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton
Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton were three of the main victims of the Arcadia collapse. Boohoo swooped in again in April 2021 and purchased all three brands and websites as part of a £25.3million deal. The physical shops stayed closed though, including around a dozen in the North East.
Jaeger
The high-end fashion brand Jaeger disappeared from the high street during 2021. It was taken over by Marks and Spencer in January 2021 but its 63 UK stores were permanently closed.
Peacocks
Peacocks fell into administration in November 2020, putting its 423 stores and thousands of jobs at risk. However, it was rescued by a group of international investors in April 2021, backed by the chief operating officer of Edinburgh Woollen Mill. Around half of its stores have reopened, including those in Consett, Chester-le-Street and Washington, but the rest have closed forever.
Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge
The jewel in the crown of the Arcadia retail empire, their doors closed forever last year after Arcadia entered administration in November 2021 and subsequent rescue plans failed. ASOS bought Topshop, alongside Topman and Miss Selfridge in April 2021 as part of a £330million deal to save the brands. But ASOS didn’t buy the hundreds of physical shops as part of the deal, leaving empty shops in Newcastle, Metrocentre, Sunderland and Durham.
