British fashion brand Lipsy has today announced a deal which will see it launch stores in Middle Eastern countries Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Lebanon.
In association with Landmark Group, which already operates international franchises for retailers such as Kurt Geiger, New Look and Reiss, Lipsy intends to open 17 stores in the region over the next five years.
Lipsy, which was acquired by Next in 2008, already has an international presence with concessions appearing in Bloomingdale‘s in the US, Galeries Lafayette in France, Robinsons in Singapore and Myer in Australia.
Jeremy Stakol, CEO of Lipsy, commented: “This is a key milestone in our international expansion and underscores the international appeal of our brand. We are delighted to be working with the team at Landmark and look forward to introducing Lipsy to their customers.
“We are currently considering additional franchise opportunities with similarly experienced partners in other countries and territories.”
In Next‘s most recent result, Lipsy profits were shown to have dropped by almost £1 million to just £200,000 in the first half of its financial year, with student fee rises and a difficult job market for the young blamed for the poor performance.
International expansion is being pursued by many UK retailers struggling to find growth in the UK market at present and Landmark is confident Lipsy is capable of profiting from this new endeavour.
Renuka Jagtiani, Vice Chairperson of Landmark Group, said: “We have ambitious growth plans to develop Lipsy within the region and believe their unique handwriting, glamorous fashion outlook and continuous celebrity endorsement will be a success within our markets.”
