Boden's boss says he «screwed up» and promises to revive the catalog

Johnny Boden: We forgot who we were. We've changed the product too much.» Photo: Ray Schroer

Boden boss will tell shoppers he 'screwed it up' after a series of mistakes sent the British fashion brand into the red.

Johnny Boden, who founded the clothing brand, is sitting on the kitchen table in 1991, recognized the existence of a «catalog of errors» and is preparing to renew the business.

As a result of the overhaul, the London-based company will stop producing menswear, which is in dire straits. division and resurrect its famous catalog.

As part of the rebrand, Boden will also send apologetic emails to loyal customers with phrases such as: “Sorry, I'm a complete jerk. I screwed up.”

This comes after Boden lost £4.4m last year, compared to a £22m profit in 2021, according to The Times.

Revenue fell 2% to £350m and customer numbers fell 5% to 1.8m.

62-year-old Bodin told the paper the flamboyant brand had gone astray and vowed to get it back in back on track.< /p>

He said the company, favored by the Duchess of Cambridge and Rishi Sunak's wife Akshata Murthy, has become 'too young' with its womenswear line and upset many customers.

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He said, “We have forgotten who we were. We have changed the product too much. We had fewer colors, we had shorter silhouettes, and we had products that were on-trend, which was not a big deal for us.”

Boden also struggled to catch on with its menswear lines in the face of fierce competition from rivals such as Charles Tyrwitt.

Initially, the brand launched only a menswear line, and later introduced a womenswear line and childrenswear. Mr. Boden insisted the company would eventually restart its menswear division, but «not quite yet.»

High rents and low sales have forced Boden to close its only store on Kings Road in Chelsea. , last year.

He also significantly reduced the distribution of his catalog, once a staple of middle-class homes and which the founder calls «the bible.»

Mr Boden said that rising paper prices and digitalization made cuts necessary, but acknowledged that the company had cut too much.

Fashion bible was once a staple in middle-class homes. Photo: Pat Tewson/Alamy Stock Photo

Mr. Boden, a self-proclaimed «finicky customer» who received a CBE award in June, said he knew modest marketing emails were a risky move.

“We can get a lot of complaints, but we just need to do something a little different,” he added.

A staple of the British middle class for over three decades, Boden has moved from the traditional catalog model to sales through his website and third-party retailers, including John Lewis.

In the US, he sells through the Nordström Department Store Chain. America is currently its biggest market, thanks in part to its popularity with celebrities like Sienna Miller.

The brand's overhaul will coincide with the launch of Boden's upcoming Fall/Winter 2023 collection.

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