Editor’s Interview: Charles Tyrwhitt founder – ‘No point whinging about the government’
The founder of Charles Tyrwhitt, Nick Wheeler, has told Morning Wire that there’s “no point whinging about what the government are doing or not doing, because they’re not going to change,” adding “I’ve got to get on and make my own decisions.”
His comments came during an interview with Morning Wire in which he lamented the lack of business experience among politicians. The storied shirt maker said “politicians very rarely come from a business background…I think it’s well publicised that this cabinet or this government have not had business experience.”
In a wide-ranging conversation, Wheeler, who founded Charles Tyrwhitt as a student in Bristol in the 1980s, also revealed the business is “wargaming scenarios” as President Trump’s tariff policy risks causing significant disruption to the retailer’s fast-growing US operations.
Wheeler said that if the Trump administration imposes “full duty at retail price on products going to the US, that’s going to be very, very expensive for us.” The business is considering constructing a warehouse in the US and “shipping in at wholesale.”
From Covid and tariffs to a changing City style
Elsewhere in the interview, Wheeler discusses:
Why he’s always resisted taking external investment – “It’s not a given that you need to go out and find that.”
Early business mistakes – “I lost more money in three months than I made in the last three years and went bust…so that was a bit of a shock to the system.”
His three simple rules – “There are some very simple business rules that I think that every business should stick to, and actually a surprising number of businesses don’t stick to and I think that’s why a lot of businesses get into trouble along the way.”
How the disaster of the pandemic became an opportunity – “Covid was initially the worst time of my life and latterly probably one of the best things that ever happened to me, because it woke me up as to what was going on in the business. It was a damn good kick up the arse that we needed.”
Wheeler also talks about the current strength of the business and the changing styles and fashions in formalwear and workwear in the City, and gives his advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: “I think for the right person, it’s the best thing in the world.”