Charles Tyrwhitt founder proud to join Wharf ranks

Wharfers will be familiar with the Charles Tyrwhitt brand from the shop which opened in Canada Place mall at the end of July. The Wharf met up with Mr Wheeler, who founded the company in 1986 while still a student, to find out more.

He said: "I started the business while I was a geography student at Bristol University. I didn't have many lectures so it was a great way to fill the time inbetween and make some money.

"It was all mail order because I didn't really have any other options at the time. I couldn't do retail and the internet didn't exist as we know it. Luckily it really took off and became a great success. The secret is to have a damn good quality product at a damn good price.

Mr Wheeler, 44, opened his first shop on Jermyn Street in 1997 and has not looked back. The Canary Wharf outlet is the company's 12th and Mr Wheeler is confident it will do well.

He said: "Canary Wharf is where all our customers are. Everyone here is a potential customer for us so it wasn't a difficult choice really. The young affluent market is perfect for our product and we would have come here years ago if we'd had the opportunity."

The store's launch saw over 1,000 customers went into the store on its first day of trading two weeks ago, vindication of Nick's decision to locate here, despite it being possibly the worst time to open a shop.

He said: "It's summer so a lot of people are away and we're also having a huge sale to clear a lot of old stock out before we launch our new ranges. But perhaps that's why it's been so popular, you can get four shirts for £70 - perfect for cash-strapped bankers."

Despite the success of the stores Charles Tyrwhitt will not become an ubiquitous high street name.

"I don't want a shop on every high street because there's a danger of flooding the market," said Mr Wheeler. "Canary Wharf and the City are key areas and we may expand to cities like Leeds and Manchester but we won't go mad.

"It's a niche business. Not everyone wants a Jermyn Street shirt but it is an international brand so it would work well in places like Frankfurt and New York."

Mr Wheeler has some words of wisdom when it comes to keeping business booming during times of recession.

He said: "The most important thing is to focus on what you do best and don't get carried away by lots of other things. We want to be the best shirt company in the world and if we keep our focus I think we can do that. We had a record year last year and I'm confident we'll keep growing."

And that unusal name?

He said: "Charles and Tyrwhitt are actually my middle names. I didn't think Nick Wheeler had quite the right sound and luckily the name seemed to work."

Some facts:

Charles Tyrwhitt - pronounced Tirrit - started as a mail order business in 1986.

As well as offering good quality shirts at affordable prices the company offers an alteration service and sell suits, shoes and accessories.

Charles Tyrwhitt's turnover for 2008 was £53million. The comany now has 12 stores, including outlets in Paris and New York. It employs 380 people worldwide.

The most popular shirts at the moment are plain white, with sales up by 50 per cent from 220,000 to 330,000.