// Laura Ashley to open “very different” flagship at Westfield London
// Andrew Khoo said Laura Ashley will look at further collaborations which would appeal to a younger market
// The retailer this week a full-year pre-tax loss of £14.3m, down from a profit of £100,000
Laura Ashley has announced plans to open a “very different” flagship store at Westfield London while also targeting a younger market.
The fashion and homeware retailer told Retail Week it would open a flagship featuring a “fresh look” this November in the Westfield London shopping centre in Shepherd’s Bush.
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“We’re very excited about this store because we’re taking a very fresh look at how we can do things,” Laura Ashley chairman Andrew Khoo said.
He added: “It will still be Laura Ashley that we all know and love, but it will be very different in the way we style and merchandise and the types of products that will come in.”
Meanwhile, following its recent collaboration with US retailer Urban Outfitters, Khoo told Drapers that Laura Ashley wants to appeal to a younger market “by way of collaboration, capsule collections or launching a new sub-brand”.
In its full-year trading update published this week, Laura Ashley reported a pre-tax loss of £14.3 million, down from a profit of £100,000 for the 52 weeks to June 30.
Total like-for-like retail sales were down 3.5 per cent, though fashion like-for-like sales increased 9.2 per cent during the period.
Meanwhile, Laura Ashley has plans for further growth by opening its first Australian store in Melbourne’s Chadstone shopping centre next year.
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