“I’ve seen people who came in with their fathers, now coming in with their sons,” says Mark Harris, the owner of Brookes Menswear
Mark Harris has owned and run Brookes Menswear since 2001.(Image: Mark Harris)
Customers of a well established Hull menswear shop, described as an “icon of the city”, have expressed their hopes it can be continued. Mark Harris, the owner of Brookes Menswear, has announced his intention to retire – and is seeking a buyer for the much-loved King Edward Street shop.
Scores of fashion fans took to social media to express their sadness at the news, and hopes the trusted independent retailer will live on. And Mark, who has owned the shop for 25 of its 43 years, is set on finding a local buyer that shares his passion.
He explained: “We’ve got a fantastic customer base, and thousands of followers on social media. I want to sell the business to someone from Hull, somebody who has got the passion and that wants to continue it as an ongoing business.
“As [former owner] Alan said to me 25 years ago, you’ll never, ever buy a business where you can shut the doors on a Sunday and open on a Monday and carry on trading. And he was bang on right because from that day to this day, we’ve carried on trading.
“We’ve tweaked it a little bit in that we’ve got some more brands and we’ve had to go with the flow.”
Mark acquired Brookes from its original owner in 2001. At the time he worked in retail but was facing redundancy following the liquidation of his employer.
Armed with bank funding Mark bought the shop which was already well established and since run it successfully, even navigating major challenges such as the Covid pandemic – putting his stock online and offering free home deliveries locally.
Brookes attracts shoppers from all over the region, and even as far afield as Scarborough. It stocks a variety of top brands such as Fred Perry, Barbour and Penguin.
Mark talked of his pride in having given a number of young people a start on the career ladder through work in his shop. Former staff have gone on to become schoolteachers, company directors and a nursery manager.
He added: “I’m gutted to be going but at the end of the day, you can’t go on forever and ever. I do want to sell it to somebody who has got the passion, not an investor who will just go “I’ll get my 20% out of that every year”.
“I want somebody who is into retail, into customer service, and into fashion.”
There has already been a handful of enquiries, with Mark offering to stage a handover period in which he works two or three days per week to support the right buyer. Mark has stressed the shop, which employs four other staff, is not going anywhere immediately, with any forthcoming sale likely to take a number of months to finalise.
On Facebook, customers showed their appreciated for Mark and the Brookes legacy. One said: “Hope you find a buyer soon and hull city centre wouldn’t be the same without it.” Another posted: “Enjoy your retirement, Mark. You will be missed as you have the best menswear shop for miles around!”
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