Austin Reed to return to high street seven months after collapse

Upmarket clothing brand Austin Reed is to return to the UK high street seven months after it collapsed into administration and all but five of its UK stores were closed.

New owner Edinburgh Woollen Mill plans to open 50 shops, including a flagship store in central London, before the end of next year, reports the Daily Telegraph.

It bought the business out of administration in May but only acquired five outlets, located within Boundary Mill Stores discount outlets, as well as the brand and its online presence.

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Austin Reed's 120 standalone stores closed and 1,000 staff lost their jobs as attempts to find a buyer for the whole business, which has "struggled with debt and plunging sales", fell short, says the BBC.

The company was founded in 1900 and once counted Winston Churchill as a customer. However, it suffered from a decline in demand for suits and its original Regent's Street store was shut down in 2015.

The Telegraph says the revival comes after a period of "strong sales growth and record profits" and follows the relaunch of the brand online "with a new autumn/winter collection".

It will be part of a wider expansion by Edinburgh Woollen Mills across its retail portfolio, which will see it open 200 new stores and create 2,000 jobs.

The paper adds the announcements came in a trading update by the firm, which reported a "2.4 per cent rise in sales to £576.3m and a similar increase in underlying pre-tax profits to £90.9m in the year to February 2016".

Austin Reed to disappear from high street after 116 years

31 May

Austin Reed's entire 120 standalone stores will close by the end of July, marking the end of the tailoring company's 116-year tenure on Britain's high streets and the loss of more than 1,000 jobs.

Administrators at AlixPartners announced the sale of just five concessions, located within Boundary Mill Stores discount outlets, and the Austin Reed and County Casual brands to Edinburgh Woollen Mill. The BBC says this will result in the "transfer of 28 staff".

Joint administrator Peter Savile said: "Despite a significant number of interested parties coming forward during this period, it became clear as the process progressed that a viable solution which kept the business whole was not forthcoming.

"As a result, we have made the difficult decision to cease trading the business and commence a wind-down of the estate."

Austin Reed fell into administration in late April, but its collapse was overshadowed by that around the same time of BHS, which has put 11,000 jobs at risk. It reportedly attracted interest from similar parties, including Sports Direct's Mike Ashley, but as in the case of BHS, most prospective offers have not materialised into formal rescue bids.

Austin Reed "started as a tailoring business in the City of London in 1900, selling off-the-rack suits that could pass as made-to-measure", says the BBC. It "once counted figures including Winston Churchill as customers… had a concession on the transatlantic liner Queen Elizabeth and supplied clothing for special agents and resistance fighters during World War Two".

The Guardian adds that the company's current customer base includes International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde.

In more recent years, though, the business has been hampered by "a poorly designed website and 'tired' stores" amid a challenging market for clothing retailers. It was forced to close 31 unprofitable stores through a controlled insolvency process last year. It was sold by previous owner Darius Capital to Alteri Investors, "which invests in troubled retail companies", in April.