NW3 to disappear by end of year as Hobbs' turnaround steadies up

Hobbs’ NW3 fashion line is to disappear by the end of the year as part of chairman Phil Wrigley’s turnaround plan for the loss-making group, announced the British retailer to kick off the week. “NW3 has done a good job for us, but the aesthetics of the business are becoming

increasingly blurred and the brands look more and more like each other,” Wrigley told ‘The Sunday Telegraph’.

“We had wanted to engage a more youthful shopper alongside, but there was a confusion about what would be considered a Hobbs design and what would be NW3, which led to our shoppers being confused,” Hobbs ‘executive added.

Hence, Hobbs has ruled that this season’s autumn/winter collection will be its last for NW3 after a strategic review carried out in March that found that having the two brands confused shoppers. The assessment was carried out by Wrigley himself and OC&C.

NW3, first casualty in Hobbs ‘attempt to revert 1.9 million loss

Hobbs closed 2013 into the red after noting a 1.9 million pounds loss for the year to the end of January, according to accounts posted at Companies House. It is noteworthy that it made a 8.2 million pounds pre-tax profit over the previous 12 months.

“The unseasonal weather was unhelpful but not the principal cause of this under-performance against our expectations,” recognised the brand in a statement back in August.

Turnover fell 8.2 percent to 111.7 million pounds while gross margins were dragged 0.8 percent to 62.5 percent due to the retailer´s struggles to sell majority of its collection at full price.

“The disappointing performance was the result of changes to the core ranges, which were not well received,” said the accounts.

The figures come in the wake of private-equity giant 3i, which has a 47 percent stake, having recently cut the value of its investment by more than half to 21 million pounds, thanks in part to the chain suffering a tough Christmas, published ‘CITY A.M.’