Wright plans to wake up menswear brand

THE retail group behind the Suits You and Racing Green menswear brands changed hands yesterday for an estimated £30 million (€43m).

Major expansion is planned over the next three years after former Moss Bros chief executive Adrian Wright took control of the Speciality Retail Group (SRG) using private equity funds.

Investment will be targeted at the Racing Green brand, which accounted for 20% of the £74m (€108m) of revenues generated by SRG in the year to January.

There are six Racing Green stores in Britain and Mr Wright has set a target of close to 25 new stores over the next three years.

He said: “Racing Green is a brand that has been asleep.

“If you think of the great British brands that have been reawakened over the past few years such as Ben Sherman, then Racing Green ranks alongside those.”

Womenswear will be reintroduced to Racing Green in 2006 after a gap of four years, he added.

As well as Racing Green and 68 Suits You stores, SRG owns the Young’s Hire service and Savile Row tailor Chester Barrie. Mr Wright said Suits You and Young’s would be merged and six to eight new stores opened each year.

Despite the slowdown in consumer spending reported by many firms on the high street, SRG has seen trading remain strong since the start of the year.

Mr Wright said: “Dress down Friday is dying and it has been for the past three years. People are turning to suits again and this market is growing.”