Seems that Henri Lloyd have gone pop

The Falmouth store had few people in it any time I visited. The "till", which needed to be the key to its success, rarely rang. I can also say the same about the Musto store in Falmouth. Not many customers and the "till" rarely rings.

Where were the most HL clothes sold? would seem to be the most relevant question? Chandlers, equine shops? So shutting the shops is no loss. If the shops have dragged down the manufacturing arm, that is very poor management.

If the stuff wasn't selling enough anywhere, that will be a marketing failure.

I found their stuff didn't fit me and anyway was a bit pricey for me. But I maybe wasn't target audience. My expensive son seems to have loads of their stuff.
 
It does seem odd that it is not made clear whether it is the retail arm or the whole company. If the former, they are doing their business no good with this unclear message. I suspect the latter though, which is a shame cos they were my favourite expensive sailing apparel brand. I have a few bits of Gill, Helley Hanson, Musto and even smaller brands like Hudson Wight, but by far HL outnumbers all of the others added together. Love their Oxford shirts especially.
 
CLB said:
It does seem odd that it is not made clear whether it is the retail arm or the whole company. If the former, they are doing their business no good with this unclear message. I suspect the latter though, which is a shame cos they were my favourite expensive sailing apparel brand. I have a few bits of Gill, Helley Hanson, Musto and even smaller brands like Hudson Wight, but by far HL outnumbers all of the others added together. Love their Oxford shirts especially.
Click to expand...

Been in the Colonies too, too long. What on earth is an Oxford shirt? and why is it better than any other shirt?

Jonathan
 
JumbleDuck said:
No sign of an administrator's notice on the brand website, so perhaps it's just a retail arm from which the keel (or front) has fallen off.
Click to expand...

there wont be, it's a notice to give them a couple of weeks to negotiate a solution to the problem.

from my perspective hl represent overpriced status symbols. i fail to see how any "offshore" sailing jacket is worth £700 or more.

aren't all boats offshore? that's what they do. it can cut up a bit outside the breakwater, you dont have to be a hundred miles off the scillies.

i think these status symbol suppliers rely solely on the solent suckers trying to out do each other. a very limited market but not limited enough imho.

what's wrong with some oilskins and a thick patterned jumper?
"oow it doesn't breath", neither will you if you go in the cold water with a breathable for any length of time which you will do with your posh jacket if i'm at the helm.
the order will be "press on" cockleshell hero style.


this is more like it.
https://www.gaelforcemarine.co.uk/en/Fladen-Scandia-2-Piece-Flotation-Suit-C1/m-4916.aspx

i might even turn round for you.
 
And having an Oxford shirt within the range seems only to underline your point.

I'd prefer a fleece to your thick patterned jumper and I suspect if you search around you can buy fleece even more cheaply than the jumper can be made (at home). Knitting, and crocheting, are some of those skills that will disappear in a few more decades.
 
It's a shame, but I never really "got" HL and who their audience were. Prices in the stores, which did always seem to be empty, were pretty crazy. From a sailing perspective, they never seemed quite as prevalent on deck, in the dingy park, or in the bar as Musto, who also seemed to be much better at sponsoring exciting boats/classes and getting the crossover to country wear/ski wear etc right. I also think if you happened to be passing your local McDonalds on a Saturday night, there would be the inevitable fleet of Corsa SRI's and Fiesta STs, their inner city teenage owners often decked out in plenty of HL or Burberry, but you'd never see Musto or Dubarry...so did it have an image problem? I do have a few items of HL casual clothing, but all purchased from TK Maxx or Sportpursuit as distressed goods, never from the stores!

I also think it's a shame we have "Lendy" Cowes Week, and "Cloudy Bay" RTIR, yet the big clothing manufacturers always stay away.

Hmmmm...thinking about it...I've sailed yachts pretty much all my life and raced dinghies seriously for about 20 years. In that time I've probably gone through an eye watering amount of kit...Gill, Gul, Magic Marine, Musto, Zhik, Sandiline, Spinlock, Dubarry, Sebago...but for whatever reason I have never once bought a single technical item from HL...there was always something nicer/better value/more suitable IMHO.

A big shame nonetheless...
 
Iain C said:
Hmmmm...thinking about it...I've sailed yachts pretty much all my life and raced dinghies seriously for about 20 years. In that time I've probably gone through an eye watering amount of kit...Gill, Gul, Magic Marine, Musto, Zhik, Sandiline, Spinlock, Dubarry, Sebago...but for whatever reason I have never once bought a single technical item from HL...
Click to expand...

I have a great HL kit bag which my father bought in the days when they made touch stuff for real seafarers - like Guy Cotten's commercial stuff today. I don't think HL every really made the transition to leisure sailing successfully - as you say, they were mainly a chav brand.

Edit: My bag is actually Helly Hansen. Oops.
 
Last edited:
JumbleDuck said:
I have a great HL kit bag which my father bought in the days when they made touch stuff for real seafarers - like Guy Cotten's commercial stuff today. I don't think HL every really made the transition to leisure sailing successfully - as you say, they were mainly a chav brand.
Click to expand...

I once had the pleasure of going cross channel in a IMOCA60 with a sailor who had recently finished the Vendee. He swore by Guy Cotten as the only stuff that was really up to the job. And he was sailing a much older generation boat with a small cabin top...none of that protected area that the modern boats have.
 
Iain C said:
I once had the pleasure of going cross channel in a IMOCA60 with a sailor who had recently finished the Vendee. He swore by Guy Cotten as the only stuff that was really up to the job. And he was sailing a much older generation boat with a small cabin top...none of that protected area that the modern boats have.
Click to expand...

I have a Guy Cotten yellow jacket which has yet to develop any sort of leak, thirty years after I bought it.
 
With HL recently buying Musto, has anybody taken the trouble of finding out if it is just the shops or the whole lot that is at risk?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top