Drake’s Leaves Its British Preppiness Intact Under New Owner

2026 is ushering in a new era at Drake’s.

In December, Mark Cho, who purchased the menswear business alongside creative director Michael Hill from founder Michael Drake in 2010, sold his 75 percent controlling share in Drake’s to Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, who owns the venture firm Heartland, for an undisclosed sum. Cho announced his departure on Instagram on Dec. 23, saying he had done all he could in leading the business after helping to grow the brand “sevenfold” over the last 15 years. Hill retains his 25 percent stake and his role in the company.

“It got to a point where it’s like, the brand deserves to be bigger,” Cho said in an interview with The Business of Fashion. “I’m like an indie band manager. I’m not, like, the band manager of U2.”

Over the last 15 years, Drake’s has quietly emerged as an authority in menswear.

Without flashy billboards or a deluge of social media ads, the brand’s exacting and timeless preppy style, from its $2,000 suede chore jackets to its $345 oxford shirts and $295 striped polos, has become a symbol of impeccable taste for a subset of fervent, in-the-know male consumers.

Since taking over for Drake, who founded the business as a men’s accessory maker in 1977, Hill and Cho have turned Drake’s uncompromising approach to British craftsmanship into a profitable ready-to-wear business that generates more than £20 million ($27 million) in annual turnover, growing at 20 percent year on year for the last three years. The company operates three stores in London, New York and Seoul that account for just over 40 percent of annual sales.

“The brand walks the line between classic and fashion,” said Toby Bateman, chief executive of Mr Porter, which has carried Drake’s since the online men’s retailer launched in 2011. “You’ve got lawyers and bankers that wear it, and you’ve got creative directors and designers that wear it as well.”

But despite the new ownership, Hill is insistent that they’ll avoid disruptions to the business.

“We’ve got a track record of how we’ve done things over the last 40 years, and for us to make a sudden change to our customer doesn’t make any sense,” Hill said in an interview with The Business of Fashion. “We don’t compromise on what we make. We’re not planning on compromising in the future.” The brand will maintain its relationships with suppliers, and its prices should remain the same, he added.

While Heartland is an investment vehicle with millions to deploy, Hill maintains that Drake’s won’t become a growth-at-all-cost operation. For starters, the venture firm won’t inject any capital into Drake’s (at least not yet) Hill said, alleviating the brand of pressure to chase potentially untenable, and unprofitable, growth that often comes with a hefty investment check.

“There’s no plans of world domination. We don’t want to grow for the sake of it,” Hill said. “We just want to make sure we’re making the best product in the best way, with the best people.”

Drake’s has a lot riding on its ability to maintain its brand equity. As luxury consumers question the value of high-end goods amid rampant price hikes, and pullback spending as a result, Drake’s has successfully convinced its customers that its $2,000 Italian-made wool blazers and $345 lambswool crewneck jumpers are worth the price. After Povlsen’s name circulated as Drake’s new owner, some fans expressed fears that the investor would push to move production to regions known for cheaper labour, raise prices and ramp up marketing. “The goal will be to get sizable ROI which eventually will translate into higher retail prices, lower quality and the mass-marketing of the brand. Look for Drake’s at a Target near you,” one commenter wrote on a post from the menswear Substack Retro Ralph.

Still, a few notable changes are expected. This fall, Drake’s is moving to a 3,000-square-foot store in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, after “outgrowing” its current 2,000-square-foot location on Canal Street, Hill said, adding that the move was in the works prior to Heartland’s takeover.

Drake’s is also revamping its online store. Last year, the brand opened a new photography studio to improve its product imagery and hired its first e-commerce director to overhaul backend operations. Last July, Drake’s transitioned from using its own warehouse to working with a third-party logistics firm to cut down costs and enhance shipping capabilities, Hill said.

Hill said that Cho mostly acted as an outside advisor as he simultaneously ran the Hong Kong-based menswear brand The Armoury that he founded in 2010, but Heartland will be more involved and provide essential guidance on Drake’s operational improvements.

“It’s probably fair to say now that there will be slightly more seasoned, more significant infrastructure there,” Hill said. “A little help will not be turned away.”

Editor's Note: This story was updated on 13 Jan. to amend the year Mark Cho bought a controlling stake in Drake's.