Upmarket fashion retailer Brooks Brothers is poised to open a raft of stores in the UK, despite boss Claudio Del Vecchio’s warnings of a worsening global economic crisis in the second part of this year.

The US retailer is set to open 10 flagship stores in key UK cities such as Birmingham and Manchester, and 15 to 20 smaller stores in second-tier locations.

Del Vecchio, chairman and chief executive of owner Retail Brand Alliance, said that he agreed with Marks & Spencer chief Sir Stuart Rose’s forecast at last month’s Retail Week Conference that the economy will remain tough until the middle of 2010.

He believes the US is already in recession and that “apples for apples, it is not going to be any better in the UK”.

Del Vecchio said: “It used to be that the first people affected were in the middle, and retailers at the bottom end, like the Wal-Marts of this world, would still do well, but they are not doing well either. It is affecting everyone.”

In the UK, Brooks Brothers’ like-for-like sales are up 15 per cent this year.

The retailer, which has 320 outlets worldwide, with three in the UK, is considering entering into global wholesale agreements.

Del Vecchio added that the retailer’s Country Club sportswear format could be exported to the UK within a couple of years.

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