Charles Tyrwhitt
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Clothier |
| Founded | London, United Kingdom, 1986 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Key people | Nicholas Charles Tyrwhitt Wheeler (Founder) |
| Products | Clothing |
| Website | www.ctshirts.co.uk |
Charles Tyrwhitt (also known as CT Shirts) is a multi-channel British clothing retailer, specialising in formal men’s shirts, shoes, suits, knitwear and accessories, as well as lines of womenswear and a casual range.
Charles Tyrwhitt was founded as a mail order company in 1986 by Nicholas Charles Tyrwhitt Wheeler while he was a student at Bristol University.[1] Wheeler has said that he started the business simply because he thought he "could make a shirt better than anybody else".[2]
In 1997, the company opened its first store on Jermyn Street, London, notable for its history in British shirt making.[3] Charles Tyrwhitt’s flagship store is now at Nos. 98–100 Jermyn Street.
Tyrwhitt uses a high MSRP, high discount model (also called high-low pricing).
History
Charles Tyrwhitt was founded as a mail order company in 1986 by Nicholas Charles Tyrwhitt Wheeler, while he was a student at Bristol University. The company began operating from a small space on Fulham Road, London, before expanding the business with retail and e-commerce stores. Beginning as a gentleman’s shirt makers, the offering has since expanded to include suits, shoes, knitwear, accessories and a collection of business casual wear. Charles Tyrwhitt now includes a selection of womenswear.
Current operations
Charles Tyrwhitt produces a regular series of brochures every year. They also have a large online store, with sites dedicated to the UK, Germany, US and Australia that sell the full product range.
Charles Tyrwhitt now has 24 stores. 10 are in London, 8 elsewhere in the UK, 5 in the US (3 in New York, 1 in Chicago and 1 in Washington), and one in Paris, France.[4]
Sale model
Charles Tyrwhitt sells the vast majority of merchandise at significant discount from its published retail price. In the U.S., a non-iron dress shirt retails for $160, while 4 shirts for $200 or even less is a common price. Prices have been seen as low as $29 per shirt on CTshirts.com. It has been reported that online sale prices can be honored in the New York City retail locations.[5]
Customer service
Charles Tyrwhitt uses an independent customer feedback service called Feefo.[6] This allows some customers (those willing to provide the company with their email address) to give feedback on the service they experienced from Charles Tyrwhitt that is then published as a live feed on the Charles Tyrwhitt website. These reviews are unedited on the Charles Tyrwhitt website. As of Nov 2014, Charles Tyrwhitt has a 97% positive customer service rate.[7]
The customer service centre is currently based in London, England and Milton Keynes, England. Customers calling from the US and overseas will also be put through to a customer service representative in London or Milton Keynes
Awards
Charles Tyrwhitt has received awards for their customer service in recent years. Most notably Charles Tyrwhitt was awarded 1st place for customer service in the 2011 Sunday Times Profit Track 100 awards.[8]
Charles Tyrwhitt earned awards at the Top 50 Companies For Customer Service Awards, including Best Web Chat, Best E-Retailer, 2nd place for Calls and 3rd for best overall customer service.[9]
Notable customers
David Cameron has shown his support for British Fashion at a reception to celebrate the start of the London Collections for Men. Tieless, in a Richard James suit, Charles Tyrwhitt shirt and Oliver Sweeney shoes.[10]
The president of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars North America, David Archibald, buys his suits from Charles Tyrwhitt. "Charles Tyrwhitt’s styles are quite traditional yet quite comfortable. I travel a lot and the suits jump in and out of suitcases – all the while allowing me to look as I should."[11]
References
- ^ "Interview with Nick Wheeler". Business.timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-23. (subscription required)
- ^ [1] [dead link]
- ^ Tripathi, Shruti (2014-11-12). "From zero to £190m: How Nick Wheeler built Charles Tyrwhitt | Interviews". LondonlovesBusiness.com. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ^ "Charles Tyrwhitt UK stores". www.ctshirts.com. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
- ^ "Mens' Clothing Dealz: Charles Tyrwhitt Shirts". Mensclothingdealz.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ^ "Charles Tyrwhitt UK Reviews | Customer Reviews Of www.ctshirts.co.uk". Feefo.com. 2007-02-18. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ^ "Charles Tyrwhitt UK Reviews | Customer Reviews Of www.ctshirts.co.uk". Feefo.com. 2007-02-18. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ^ "Profit Track 100 award winners". Fasttrack.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ^ [2] Archived 2013-01-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Mowbray, Nicole (2013-01-08). "'Blame Sam for my style crimes!': David Cameron says wife doles out clothes 'like food to a prisoner' on shopping trips (and lets us know his pants are from M&S) | Daily Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
- ^ "Power dressing: David Archibald". FT.com. 2013-02-08. Retrieved 2015-11-23.