What 3 Wise Men is known for
3 Wise Men is a New Zealand menswear brand. It began when Richard Miles and two friends, Hugh Cotterill and Simon Peacocke, saw a gap for quality shirts at a sharp price in 2004. Miles opened the first store near Broadway in Newmarket, Auckland, in 2005 and sold online from the start. Shirts in soft cotton remain the core of the range. Suits and knitwear now sit alongside them in the stores.
3 Wise Men grew out of a conversation in 2004 between three friends in Auckland: Richard Miles with Hugh Cotterill and Simon Peacocke. All three had lived overseas and found that shirt shopping back in New Zealand meant thin choice at high cost. Miles was then general manager of sales at Bendon. He used his contacts in Hong Kong to find a high-end shirtmaker willing to run 25 to 50 pieces per colour and design from its sample room. He then left his job and opened the first 3 Wise Men store near Broadway in Newmarket in 2005. A second store followed just off Lambton Quay in Wellington. The business paired its shops with an online store from the start, a rare thing for New Zealand menswear at the time. Early marketing leaned on a database of 800 friends and quirky emails, plus shirts with local names such as the mint surf shirt. The brand's rules still read plainly: quality gear at affordable prices, simple pricing with no sales, and shirts in soft, rich cotton built to last. The range has widened to suits and knitwear, as well as footwear and accessories, across stores in New Zealand.
Best for — Men’s business shirts and casual shirts
New Zealand / China
Where next
- Tarocash — Australia
- Luchiano Visconti — United States
- Proper Cloth — New York
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