TM Lewin

Industry: Fashion retail
Target Market: Singapore
UKTI Service: OMIS
Website: www.tmlewin.co.uk 

Since 1905, TM Lewin has been sending its shirts around the world by mail order, focusing initially on the British Empire. Over the years, the company’s range of work-wear became popular in Japan, the US and Europe and by 2009, its home shopping department was shipping to 163 countries around the world. Today, Australia is the number one destination for mail-order shipments, followed by the US and Germany.

Meanwhile, in 1999, the company renewed its focus on the store side of the business. In May 2000, the fifth TM Lewin store opened in Ludgate Hill in the City. Today, just ten years later, there are 81 TM Lewin stores, and 11 concessions in House of Fraser department stores.

“Mail order has always been a core part of our business, and currently accounts for 15 per cent of our turnover,” says Robert Isaac, Director at TM Lewin. “Australia has taken off in a big way, largely due to the high numbers of Australians that come to the UK to work for a few years, and then return home with a taste for our clothing line. In 1999, we decided to open more stores and expanded rapidly in the UK. But we were also aware of the need to take the brand overseas. Our first store outside England was in Dublin, followed by five stores through our franchise partner in Singapore.”

Researching Singapore

TM Lewin’s interest in Singapore began in August 2008. In July 2008, Robert and the company’s CEO, Geoff Quinn, attended an event at Asia House, co-hosted by UK Trade & Investment. They heard speakers talk about opportunities in different countries in Asia, and were enthusiastic about what this could mean for TM Lewin.

After the event, Robert met with a UK Trade & Investment International Trade Adviser (ITA), to discuss which country in the region would be the best starting point for the company. He commissioned an Overseas Market Introduction Service report to find out more about opportunities in Singapore and how big the market there would be.

“We discussed various options with our ITA, and Singapore quickly emerged as the ideal country from which to test our new overseas retail strategy,” says Robert. “Most of the population speaks English, the fashion is very similar to fashion in the UK, and there is a large population of ex pats who would be familiar with our range. The OMIS report confirmed that this was a market worth pursuing, so we made plans for a visit to see for ourselves first hand and find a franchise partner.”

Franchise partner

When Geoff flew to Singapore in September 2008, UK Trade & Investment organised a packed itinerary for him, as well as practical matters such as hotel accommodation. He met with three major franchising houses, one of which, Jay Gee Melwani proved to be an excellent match. Representatives from the Singaporean company soon visited TM Lewin in the UK to get to know the brand better, and a franchise deal was struck.

The first TM Lewin store in Singapore was opened at Terminal 2 of Changi International Airport in March 2009. Since then, four more have followed and two are planned for this coming year. TM Lewin has even designed a new shirt to suit the local clientele, which is a slimmer fit and shorter in the body than the standard UK style.

“Finding a partner like Jay Gee Melwani has been key to our success in Singapore,” says Robert. “Like TM Lewin in the UK, the company has a long history in Singapore, and is a well respected force in the local market. We are delighted with the way they have actively promoted our products, and fitted out the stores. We owe a huge thanks to UK Trade & Investment for starting us off in Singapore. We’ve developed a strong relationship with them, to the extent that our CEO talks at their events, acting as a business partner, in effect. Similarly, when we opened our store in the Ion shopping centre, the British High Commissioner attended the launch. This active support, together with the practical assistance and sound advice that we have had all along the way is just fantastic.”

The UK and Singapore

Singapore is a trading nation and one of the world's most open economies. Its total external trade amounts to 360 per cent of GDP and it tops the Global Trade Enabling Index (World Economic Forum).

Singapore is the UK's 12th largest export market of goods outside the EU and the sixth largest for services. Many UK firms use Singapore as an entry point into South East Asia and as a result almost 900 UK firms have a presence there, with around 250 establishing their Regional HQ's in Singapore.  

For further information about business opportunities in Singapore, please go to UKTI.