| Many probably won't realise this, but legendary Mod brand Ben Sherman was bought out by US investors only a couple of weeks ago and is now undergoing "restructuring". Alarmingly, Ben Sherman actually made losses of £7.3m in its last tax year so clearly there is a case, if the whole thing is not to disappear totally, for cutting costs. It's easy to be cynical about this whole thing and say some American corporations are busting in and they will inevitably dilute the brand, but there was a classic choice here for Sherman; did it stick to its (newly rediscovered) roots and potentially collapse under losses and vanish completely from the High Street or did it try to appeal to a broader audience and revamp its sales at the cost to its adherence Mod style? Clearly with investors involved, the priority of the business (which, frankly, as it always should be) will be to make profits. Of course Mod can live on whatever happens to its flag-bearing brand, but there is still some sadness in seeing such a legend now in such dire financial straits. Especially after the creation of the notorious Shirt Bar at the Carnaby Street shop. |
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