Hobbs ditches quirky NW3 brand after suffering
Hobbs, the fashion brand beloved by the Duchess of Cambridge and her sister, Pippa Middleton, is to phase out its sister brand NW3 as part of a turnaround plan led by former New Look chief Phil Wrigley.
The sister brand, which features quirky knitwear and animal prints to appeal to a younger shopper, was named after the old post district for Hampstead in north London, where the first Hobbs adidas philippines store opened in 1974.
has done a good job for us, adidas philippines facebook but the aesthetics of the business are becoming increasingly blurred and the brands look more and more like each other, Mr Wrigley told The Sunday Telegraph. had wanted to engage a more youthful shopper alongside, but there was a confusion about what would be considered a Hobbs design and adidas philippines office address what would be NW3, which led to our shoppers being confused.
Mr Wrigley admitted that a strategic review of the business in March by himself and strategic consultants at OC had revealed Hobbs customers felt some of NW3 designs were quirky, forced and unnatural
Although 90pc of NW3 customers are also Hobbs shoppers there were a number of designs that Hobbs was prevented from making, adidas philippines office address such as houndstooth skirts and adidas basketball shoes footwear, because they were destined for NW3.
Some shoppers bought from NW3 because it catered for a size six, while Hobbs clothes started at a size eight. Mr Wrigley said he was introducing size six Hobbs ranges, which will be welcomed in the US, where Hobbs is expanding. Size zero Hobbs dresses will be available in five Bloomingdales stores.
He said the NW3 brand would not exist from next year and this season autumn/winter collection would be its last. Until then, the NW3 collections will be mixed with Hobbs own brand collections and future clothes will be relabelled with Hobbs London tags.
The head designer for NW3 has already left the company and the rest of the design team has been integrated into Hobbs with no further job losses planned.
The brand had a summer boost from Pippa Middleton, who wore a red dress with military style buttons to Wimbledon, prompting the 129 line to quickly sell out.
Mr Wrigley was parachuted into the high street retailer in January after a dismal Christmas trading period led to Hobbs suffering a 1.9m loss in 2013, according to accounts published last month.
The poor Christmas led the private equity group 3i to take a 14m write down on its investment, making its 47pc stake worth just 21m.
The private equity group had attempted to sell the business last year, but the tough trading made it clear that a turnaround was needed and an exit for the private equity company is expected to be at least 18 months away.
Meg Lustman, who previously ran the women retailer Warehouse and the John Lewis womenswear department, started at the company last week as chief executive and will be working alongside Mr Wrigley to revitalise Hobbs sales.