Prom night popularity suits Moss Bros chain

Chief executive Brian Brick said the company, which has 135 stores in the UK, had seen “youngsters dressing up more”, leading to a rise in sales of its own fashion suit label Ventuno.

Mr Brick said proms – a US term for a formal end-of-year dance – had become big business as the UK becomes “quite like America”.

Moss Bros, which can trace its roots back to 1851 in London’s Covent Garden, saw 15.4 per cent same-store sales growth in the six months to July 30 which helped it swing back to a pre-tax profit of £2.2m.

Moss Bros, which also trades as Savoy Taylors Guild, has undertaken a makeover, using proceeds from the sale of its Cecil Gee and Hugo Boss stores to revamp its own outlets, invest in its online offering and pay off debts.

The group opened its first new-look store in Canary Wharf in the period, which combines its hire, retail and bespoke businesses under one roof. The successful new format will be rolled out in some but not all stores across the UK.

New stores will open in shopping centres in the second half at Bluewater in Kent, Liffey Valley in Dublin and Meadowhall, near Sheffield.

Moss Bros said it now expects to deliver better-than-anticipated growth across the financial year despite the fragile economy.

Moss Bros’ trading in the eight weeks to September 24 continued to be encouraging with strong like-for-like sales.