Drapers
1 December 2007
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Agent Provocateur reveals plans for global expansion
Luxury lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur aims to grow its portfolio to more than 100 stores globally, following the sale of the business to private equity firm 3i last week. -
Arcadia shuns value to move upmarket
Sir Philip Green is shaking up his Arcadia Group brand portfolio as part of his strategy to shift away from the price-driven value market. -
Armani Exchange debuts in London
Armani opened its first Armani Exchange store in London this week, in Regent’s Street. The chain, which sells casualwear priced below the brand’s mainline ranges, opened the shop as part of the redevelopment of the former Dickens & Jones department store building. Armani Exchange also has stores in Bluewater in Kent and Metquarter in Liverpool. -
Asda sales boosted by almost £1bn
Sales at Asda rose by almost £1 billion for the year to December 31 2006. -
Baugur offloads Criminal
Baugur is selling its streetwear brand Criminal two years after investing in the label. It is unclear who is buying the business, but House of Fraser, in which Baugur also has a stake, emerged as the most likely candidate as Drapers went to press. -
Blog: Christmas? Enough already
Oxford Street’s lights went up three weeks ago, the Harrods Christmas grotto is already sold out (how un-seasonal is that? “Sorry, Santa is busy…”) and Mohammed Al Fayed leading the festive parade on Knightsbridge seems years ago. -
Blog: Festive frenzy
The Christmas lights may be shining beautifully on London’s Oxford Street but, like a beautifully wrapped gift that fails to live up to its promise, behind the doors of some key retailers the picture is not so pretty. -
Cassar eyes deals after leaving House of Fraser
House of Fraser chief finance officer Stefan Cassar will scout for new retail investments next year after stepping down from the department store group this week. -
Christmas begins slower and later than last year
The Christmas trading boost has started, albeit slower and later than last year, according to figures released today -
Christmas rush 'yet to materialise' says CBI
High street sales are up but retailers will need a late Christmas rush to score a strong performance according to the CBI High Street Survey. -
Cruise opens Nottingham store
Cruise opened its 13th store in Nottingham yesterday -
Dave Snowdon
AMG Group controls the UK distribution rights for Ugg, the most important footwear brand this decade. AMG sales and marketing director Dave Snowdon explains the Ugg evolution. -
David Jones joins JJB Sports
Former Next chief executive and chairman David Jones has joined JJB Sports as non-executive director. -
Debenhams renegotiates with banks
Debenhams has rejigged lending terms with its banks to prevent it from breaching covenants. -
Diesel goes premium with Black Gold range
Denim brand Diesel has launched a new luxury-led casualwear sub-brand for men and women for autumn 08. -
Dreaming of a full-price Christmas
As Christmas looms, retailers face the tricky task of using Sales to lure shoppers while trying to maximise festive spending. -
Early bird rate extended for Drapers Fashion Summit
The early bird discounted rate for the Drapers Fashion Summit has been extended to this Friday. -
Eco lines from Jack & Jones
Men’s denim brand Jack & Jones has launched a fair trade jeans collection for spring 08. Certified by the Fairtrade Foundation, the JJ Eco range will use organic fabrics and ethical production methods. It reflects a focus on sustainable fashion at Danish parent company Bestseller Group. -
Fears of US slowdown
Weak trading figures at US department store trio Macy’s, JC Penney and Kohl’s have prompted fears of a slowdown in the US retail market. -
Ferragamo prepares for float
Italian luxury brand Salvatore Ferragamo is to appoint an advisor to help it float on the Milan Stock Exchange by June. -
Findel reports record first half results
Findel, the home shopping group which owns The Cotswold Company and Kitbag businesses, saw pre-tax profit shoot up 107% to £8.5 million for the six months to September 30. -
Gillis takes the reins at Blacks
Blacks Leisure has appointed Neil Gillis as chief executive and promoted Keith Fleming to the role of deputy chief executive and finance director with immediate effect. -
Glenaden adds cufflinks offer
Glenaden Shirts is to introduce co-ordinated tie and cufflink ranges to its Thread and Bone and Coles brands for autumn 08. -
High street in decline says BSSA
High streets are facing a 'slow death' as they try to compete with cheaper out-of-town supermarkets and shopping centres, according to The British Shops and Stores Association. -
High-end fashion
Contemporary womenswear boutiques from across the UK reveal the items fuelling their autumn sales. Click on the Pdf below for more details. -
Hudson quits M and S amidst reshuffle
Matthew Hudson, director of trading for womenswear, lingerie and girlswear at Marks & Spencer has quit following a restructuring of the fashion team. -
JD rumours bring more brand headaches
Speculation that The John David Group is eyeing young branded fashion chain Bank reached fever pitch this week. -
Jeff Banks
This year’s Drapers Lifetime Achievement Award winner has done it all, from a sell-out 1960s store to his own TV show. -
JJB sales rise
Like-for-like sales at JJB Sports rose 1.6% for the 17 weeks to November 25 2007. -
John Lewis gets Christmas boost
Sales at John Lewis this week are up 8.5% on the previous week, and 4.6% up on last year, as cold weather and Christmas gift shopping boost trade. -
John Lewis sales up 10%
Sales at John Lewis stores rose 10% for the week to Saturday 24, as the retailer brushed aside fears of a Christmas slowdown. -
Jonathan Saunders defects to New York Fashion Week
London Fashion Week stalwart Jonathan Saunders will leave the capital's catwalks to raise his profile in New York next season. -
Jones Bootmaker and Punkyfish join Festival Place
Punkyfish and Jones Bootmaker have opened new stores at Festival Place shopping centre in Basingstoke. -
Julien Macdonald gets boost from Matalan family
Jamey Hargreaves, son of the Matalan founder John Hargreaves, has invested in London Fashion Week label Julien Macdonald. -
Katie Grand will not join Mulberry
Katie Grand has resigned from luxury brand Mulberry - she was due to take up the post of creative director in January 2008. -
Kids’ overhaul at Selfridges
Selfridges is to overhaul its kidswear department in spring 09, following double-digit growth in the category. -
Londoncentral adds new exhibitors
Londonedge and Londoncentral will showcase a raft of new exhibitors next season. -
Luxury brands criticised by WWF
Luxury brands have been named and shamed by green charity the World Wildlife Fund for their low-grade environmental and social policies. -
M&S to launch £8 bra range
Marks & Spencer is launching a new entry-priced young fashion lingerie offer for January that will include its lowest-priced bra yet, at just £8. -
Marchpole signs first Castelbajac UK store
Marchpole has signed its first UK flagship for French brand Jean Charles de Castelbajac. -
Mariella Burani approached by private equity
Mariella Burani, which owns the Mariella Burani and René Lezard brands, has received approaches from private equity firms. -
Marks and Spencer unveils revamped Pantheon store
Marks & Spencer has launched its latest look at its landmark Pantheon store in London’s Oxford Street. -
N Brown rescues Nightingales and offloads Zendor
Home shopping firm N Brown has disposed of its fulfillment arm Zendor.com and bought womenswear business Nightingales out of administration. -
New Look tests branded areas
New Look has introduced young fashion brands including Blend, Golddigga and Ax Paris into 25 of its stores via a concession model. -
No excuses: Luxury lags behind on ethics
So the World Wildlife Fund has slammed luxury goods retailers for a lack of commitment to ethical policies in the same week that luxury guru Tom Ford told an international conference that it was time for the sector to radically rethink its policies. -
One million shoppers headed to West End last weekend
More than one million shoppers visited London’s West End and spent more than £100m during the Shop West End VIP Day on Saturday, which saw Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street go traffic-free. -
Ossie Clark label is set for revival
Marc Worth, co-founder of online trend forecaster WGSN, is to relaunch iconic 1960s womenswear brand Ossie Clark. -
Premium overtakes value as fastest growing clothing category
The premium sector of the UK fashion market is set to outstrip the value sector in terms of growth this year, according to retail analyst Verdict Research. -
Retailers boosted by £12bn Christmas spend
Christmas will be worth £12 billion to retailers this year according to the British Retail Consortium. -
Retailers facing tough new year
UK fashion retailers can expect a tough start to 2008 as worsening economic conditions drive down consumer spending, delegates were told at this year’s Drapers Fashion summit. -
Retailers say goodbye to Richard 'Ratty' Ratner
Monday morning trading meetings were suspended yesterday as retailers from across the sector gathered to pay their respects to retail analyst Richard 'Ratty' Ratner, who died of a heart attack last month. -
Rise in ethical clothing sales
Sales of ethical clothing have risen by 79% in 2007 compared with last year, but sales from charity shops have declined. -
Roderick Charles to expand
Classic menswear retailer Roderick Charles will open three more stores including a flagship in the City of London. -
Rohan to axe wholesale arm
Outdoor brand Rohan is to close its wholesale division next July to focus on its retail operations. -
Sports Direct to buy back shares
Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley plans to buy back a further 5% of shares in the troubled sports business, renewing speculation that he could take it private next year. -
SRG sales and profits dip
SRG, which owns the Suits You chain, has recorded a 7% dip in gross profit to £36.7 million and a 10% slide in sales to £65.4m for the year ended January 2007 - its first full year under ownership of Gresham Private Equity. -
Stella McCartney picks up Designer of the Year
Stella McCartney picked up the prestigious Designer of the Year Award at the British Fashion Awards last night. -
Ted Baker rolls out women’s concept
Ted Baker is to roll out its standalone womenswear con-cept after sales at the premium fashion brand soared 14.3% for the third quarter. -
Tesco boss heads to M&S
Marks & Spencer has poached Tesco’s head of merchandising Cathy Haydon, ahead of a rejig of its management team. -
The Weekend Paper Round-Up
A round-up of fashion news headlines from the weekend's papers. -
The Weekend Roundup November 24-25
The best of the business news from the weekend's papers. -
Top-end capsule collection at Jaeger
Jaeger will launch a fashion-led capsule collection called Jaeger Limited across its concessions and standalones next spring. The 25-piece range will be priced in line with the top end of Jaeger’s mainline collection, with a linen dress retailing at £299 and a penc -
Topshop confirms New York location
Sir Philip Green has confirmed Topshop will unveil its first New York flagship in September next year. -
Which stores are wearing the trousers?
The menswear market is booming, but competition is as fierce as ever. So what are retail’s big names doing to stay in the race? -
Yasmin Sewell to leave Browns
Fashion buyer Yasmin Sewell is to leave Browns, one of the UK's leading independent boutiques, to set up her own fashion and retail consultancy business.
