Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group has reportedly bought Calvetron Brands out of administration while placing its Jane Norman fascia on hold.
A source close the matter has told Retail Gazette that the retail group – owned by Philip Day – has taken over Calvetron Brands, although no official announcement has been made yet.
Calvetron Brands owns Jacques Vert, Eastex and Windsmoor, and its collapse in May led to multiple store and concession closures and hundreds of job losses.
At the same time, EWM Group has reportedly placed Jane Norman on hold to focus on the recently-acquired brands in its portfolio, which includes Jaeger and Austin Reed.
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Meanwhile, it has emerged that Jane Norman has been hold for the past few months and the website was being used to sell remaining stock as EWM refocused its energy on the new brand additions in its portfolio.
Retail Gazette understands that this means no more clothes will be produced under the Jane Norman brand for the time being, although there are plans to relaunch it in the future.
According to Drapers, a small number of people have also taken voluntary redundancy at Jane Norman but the majority have been reallocated within EWM.
“We put the Jane Norman brand on hold a number of months ago to focus our energy on newly-acquired brands, such as Jaeger, Austin Reed and Viyella, which continue to go from strength to strength as we build our position in the luxury fashion market,” an EWM spokesperson said.
“The Jane Norman brand continues to be a part of our business and we will relaunch the brand in the future.”
Like it did with Austin Reed and Calvetron Brands, EWM bought Jane Norman out of administration in 2011.
Philip Day has attracted headlines in recent months for his company’s rapid expansion scheme, including the acquisitions of Austin Reed in November 2016, Jaeger in March 2017 and Berwin & Berwin earlier this year.
EWM also owns the eponymous retail chain along with Peacocks and the new Day department stores.
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