Austin Reed is returning to the high street seven months after the tailoring specialist collapsed into administration with the loss of 1,000 jobs.
The retail chain’s 120 stores closed in June, but new owner Edinburgh Woollen Mill is investing £100m in a relaunch.
Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group bought the brand when it only had a handful of concessions. It plans to open 50 Austin Reed stores by early 2018, including a London flagship. The brand’s website has relaunched and the first new stores are expected to open before the end of this year.
The Country Casuals and Viyella brands, which the group bought along with Austin Reed, will be relaunched in Edinburgh Woollen Mills stores early next year.
Austin Reed’s customers included Winston Churchill and Elizabeth Taylor in its glory days, but the retail chain struggled for several years before going into administration in April.
While the menswear market is growing faster than womenswear, Austin Reed has faced rising competition from Ted Baker, Reiss, Marks & Spencer and a revived Moss Bros.
The planned store openings were announced as Edinburgh Woollen Mill, which is privately owned by the Cumbria-based entrepreneur Philip Day, reported a 2.4% rise in sales to £576.3m in the year to 27 February. The group, which also owns fashion retailer Peacocks, homeware chain Ponden Mill and golfing brand ProQuip, said pre-tax profits before exceptional items increased by 2.4% to £90.9m. All of the group’s brands had achieved sales growth at established stores, it said.
The company said it planned to open a total of 200 stores by early 2018. In the past year, the group opened 43 stores in the UK and Ireland.
Steve Simpson, the group commercial director of Edinburgh Woollen Mill, said: “By focusing on quality and giving customers exceptional value for money and positive customer service, we have continued to grow despite increased competition.
“With the addition of Austin Reed, which we acquired earlier this year, as well as Country Casuals and Viyella, we aim to continue this organic growth, while always being ready to respond to other opportunities as they arise.”
