Bench (British clothing brand)

The brand began in 1989 creating graphic T-shirt designs influenced by skateboarding. The Manchester based fashion firm was founded by Nayef Marar and Barrie Suddons, and was acquired in 2004 by a management team led by finance director Alan Horridge for the company Americana for £20m.[2] Over the years, Bench. has evolved into a global lifestyle brand. And now sells not only menswear but womenswear,[1] including denim, trousers, sweats, hoodies, belts, bags, skirts and dresses.

The company appointed administrators in May 2018.[3]

Gordon Brothers have secured the brand for continued development.[4]

Apparel Brands Limited have secured the European license to relaunch the European Bench. [5]

In January 2020, the company announced that all 24 of its stores in Canada would be closed and that it would "focus more on our e-commerce business as well as our key wholesale customers".[6]

Although the company sells through many retailers in the United Kingdom, they also have their own stores in Westfield London, Bluewater, Liverpool One, Glasgow, The Trafford Centre (Manchester), Meadowhall (Sheffield), Metro Centre, Portsmouth, Brighton, Leicester, Nottingham, Leeds, Bristol, and a number of designer outlet centres. Internationally, they have their own stores in Berlin, Dubai, Cologne, Hamburg, Frankfurt am Main, Jena, Munich, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, Alberta, Saskatoon, Toronto, Kingston, Montreal, Ottawa, Kelowna, and Vancouver . In Canada, through an exclusive arrangement, Bench products were sold at Hudson's Bay Stores. In Croatia, through an exclusive agreement, Bench is being sold at Kruna Mode stores. They currently have 10 stores in the country; 5 in Split, 2 in Zagreb, 2 in Zaprešić, and 1 in Kaštela.[7]

• Official website