Austin Reed on the up-and-up

Austin Reed reported a rise in like-for-like sales of 9.3 percent in the 19 weeks ended 10 June. The British fashion retailer said it has noticed a clear turn towards upmarket labels this year. Previously, this segment had been losing ground and market share to more popular mass-market brands.
Chief executive Nick Hollingworth said on Tuesday that a turn in the British fashion market had occurred, saying that older shoppers were replacing younger consumers whose credit had run out.
“Young fashion has been a hot place to be in the past five years, especially mid-market young fashion. But a lot of that spending was predicated on increased credit card borrowing, which can’t go on forever at those kinds of levels. Secondly, there has been a shift in fashion tastes to dressing up rather than dressing down.”
This upturn has had a positive effect on business for design-led brands such as Jaeger, Hobbs, Karen Millen and Austin Reed. They have all seen recent sales rise despite difficult high street trading conditions.

www.austinreed.co.uk
14 June 2006

Austin Reed invests in London flagship store

One of our leading men's and women's fashion brands, Austin Reed, plans to invest GBP 12.3m in the restyling of its flagship store in Regent Street. The London-based company wil start the restyling in summer 2002 and plans to complete the operation by autumn 2003. The store will remain open throughout the process. The increased store space could result in a turnover increase of 40 percent.
www.austinreed.co.uk