Be the tortoise, not the hare — Nick Wheeler, founder of Charles Tyrwhitt

Our guest on today’s episode is Nick Wheeler, the founder of Charles Tyrwhitt. Now a true pillar of the high street and perhaps the best known shirtmaker in Britain, Charles Tyrwhitt began when Nick started flogging shirts by mail order at university. In the decades since, it’s had monumental highs and a couple of lows — in fact, Nick tells us how the brand very nearly went bust twice, and how he’s learned just as much from these near failures as he has from his successes.

Recorded at the hub of Charles Tyrwhitt operations in London Bridge, in this episode Nick tells us why he’ll never, ever sell the business; how the high street might just save itself; And why he keeps a beard in a jam jar.