// M&S buys upmarket fashion retailer Jaeger out of administration
// However, M&S is expected to only buy Jaeger’s intellectual property – leading to store closures & job cuts
// M&S did not disclose the amount paid but it is understood to be around £5m
Marks & Spencer has bought upmarket fashion brand Jaeger out of administration, saving it from collapse.
However, M&S is expected to only buy Jaeger’s intellectual property, allowing it to sell Jaeger-branded goods on its website as a third-party brand.
The deal means no store staff from Jaeger are expected to keep their jobs and all physical sites – closed due to lockdown restrictions – are expected to stay shut permanently.
READ MORE:
- M&S to buy Jaeger from Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group this week
- Marks & Spencer said to be considering an offer for Jaeger and Austin Reed
- Jaeger administration: 103 jobs axed and 13 stores shut down
M&S did not disclose the amount paid but it is understood to be around £5 million.
Jaeger was placed into administration alongside sister brand Peacocks in November by now-former parent company Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) Group, which is owned by Dubai-based tycoon Philip Day.
A week after Jaeger first went into administration, it axed 103 jobs and shut 13 stores.
The jobs cut comprised of 47 in-store positions and 56 head office and distribution roles.
The decision reduced Jaeger’s store estate to 63 shops and concessions, and 244 staff.
EWM Group had already called in administrators for its Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Ponden Home business earlier in November.
Last week there was hope from FRP Advisory, administrator for the businesses, as it issued sale contracts to a potential buyer for 400 stores trading under the Edinburgh Woollen Mill brand.
However, it is unlikely to save many stores from closure, adding to the almost one-third of its 2571 employees already made redundant.
The move to buy up Jaeger would fit with M&S’s new strategy of selling third-party brands, with existing tie-ups with the likes of Nobody’s Child and Ghost.
It is also thought to be among those in the running for some of Sir Philip Green’s collapsed Arcadia Group retail brands, such as Topshop.
Last week at M&S’s Christmas trading update, chief executive Steve Rowe explained the rationale behind teaming up and buying new brands.
“M&S wants to build a curated set of brands and merchandise largely for our online business but also through filling some of that excess space we have in stores,” he said.
“We’ve got no intention of turning M&S into a department store at all. This is about finding and partnering with adjacent brands.
“Adjacent in terms of style, adjacent in terms of customer base that enhance the M&S offer and make it the place to go to for an online shop.”
with PA Wires
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