Honest as the day is long, Johnnie Boden has put his hands up admitting that there has been a catalogue of mistakes made at his business over the past year or so. Number one on his list was taking the brand into very much more fashionable waters, leaving many loyal customers feeling alienated and at a loss as to find anything they wanted to buy. Then came the marked reduction in catalogue volume which had driven a good percentage of its online sales.
Revenues for last year had dropped marginally as had the number of active customers – with this and rising costs resulting in a £4.4m annual loss. Work is well underway to treat the causes that are under the business’ control. High on the list are honest communications from Johhnie himself, admitting to the errors made and asking for a chance to win back support.
In short, the business will be ‘resting’ its menswear line which has struggled, increasing circulation of its popular print catalogue, and returning to the style classics much loved by customers in a concerted effort to reclaim its place as a prized, good quality British brand.
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