IT nightmare turns into loss for Charles Tyrwhitt but sales rise strongly

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 16, 2018

Charles Tyrwhitt may have seen its sales rising strongly last year but it also swung to a loss after an IT project had to be axed.

The premium shirt specialist lost as much as £5.9 million in the 12 months to July 2017, after making an operating profit of £4.6 million in the previous period.

There's no denying though that its sales growth was much more encouraging. Turnover rose from £176.2 million to £197.7 million and the rise was strong in all regions. In the UK its turnover was up 41%, almost as good as the 46% rise 12 months earlier. And in the rest of the world the growth was even better, accelerating to 59% from 54% in the prior period.

The company had 22 shops in the latest year compared to 20 the year before.

Despite the IT problems, Wheeler said he will continue investing in the business, particularly in order to grow its footprint abroad.

So how big a dent did the IT project make in the company’s accounts? It cost the firm £7.3 million, but the loss it caused this time wasn't exactly a shock as Charles Tyrwhitt’s parent company had flagged up the IT issue when it released its own results back in February.

The shirt company was started by Nick Wheeler as a mail-order brand in 1986 and is now part of Bectin, which also controls The White Company, founded by Chrissie Rucker who also happens to be married to Wheeler.