Content area
Full text
The Idle Man founder says his etailer takes the hard work out of staying on trend for fashion-conscious young men.Oliver Tezcan
Former Asos.com head of menswear Oliver Tezcan set up etailer The Idle Man in April 2014 after identifying a gap in the market for a fully rounded, affordable menswear offer. Starting with £350,000 of backing from the Regional Growth Fund, Tezcan secured a further £1.2m from regional private-equity investment firm Foresight Nottingham Fund in October.
Why did you set up your own business?When I joined Asos in 2006 it still had essentially the feel of a startup and was incredibly exciting. There were about 50 of us in the office, and [founder and chief executive] Nick Robertson would think nothing of closing up on a Friday afternoon and putting his card behind the bar in our local pub. As the company became bigger we realised that probably wasn't best practice, but I was hooked on the buzz of starting something new. The seed was planted that I would one day launch my own business.What is the concept?It's the first dedicated pure-play etailer for young men's fashion. Menswear online is served well at the luxury and premium end by the likes of Mr Porter, [Newcastle indie] End and [Swedish-based] Très Bien, which are all...