The retail billionaire who has become one of the industry’s biggest employers by taking over a swathe of British fashion brands is exploring a sale of the Jaeger and Austin Reed labels after being approached by prospective buyers.
Sky News has learnt that Philip Day, whose Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group (EWM) ranks among Britain’s biggest private companies, has drafted in advisers to field enquiries about some of its best-known assets.
Sources said on Wednesday that EWM had received expressions of interest in at least three of its brands, including Jacques Vert, from a number of “international investors”, including at least one in China.
Aviation and retail suffer worst jobs hit
Aviation and retail suffer worst jobs hit
They said that Mr Day had sanctioned the appointment of FRP Advisory to field those enquiries but emphasised that he was not actively looking to sell any or all of the three labels.
One insider said the approaches were from “strategic parties who recognise the appeal of these heritage brands in China”.
A decision to sell the labels would involve a significant detour from Mr Day’s long-established strategy of buying fashion names which have fallen out of favour under their existing owners, and utilised new design and buying muscle in an attempt to revive them.
In the case of Jaeger, which was once owned by the fashion veteran Harold Tillman, the latest published figures show that EWM had halved the brand’s losses but not yet managed to return it to profitability.
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People close to the situation insisted there was no suggestion that Mr Day was examining a sale of a stake in the wider EWM Group, or pursuing a formal restructuring of the business that would involve store closures or job losses.
In March, the company said it was making approximately 100 staff redundant, a figure which represents a much smaller proportion of its 25,000-strong workforce than comparable cuts made by the likes of Arcadia Group, which owns TopShop, and Marks & Spencer, which has announced plans to cut almost 8000 jobs in the last two months.
Numerous retailers have collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic, including Oasis and Warehouse Group, which were recently bought out of administration by Boohoo, the online fashion retailer.
Cath Kidston and Laura Ashley are among the other big names which have succumbed to the disastrous impact of the coronavirus outbreak on high street footfall.
Image: Austin Reed is among Philip Day’s retail brands
During nearly 20 years at the helm of EWM, he has bought large chunks of the UK’s fashion industry, including Peacocks, Jane Norman and home furnishings businesses such as Ponden Mill and Rosebys.
Mr Day’s most recent deal involved buying Bonmarche, the fashion brand, out of an administration process that was contentious because he had also been the company’s previous owner.
He also acquired Jaeger and Austin Reed, as well as the latter’s sister brand Country Casuals, through insolvency processes.
In total, he now controls more than 1000 stores across Britain.
The tycoon’s aggressive pursuit of acquisitions has been mirrored by that of Mike Ashley, the Frasers Group chief executive whose Sports Direct empire provided a foundation for buying chains including Evans Cycles, House of Fraser and Jack Wills, as well as a stake in French Connection.
Based in Switzerland and Dubai, Mr Day is a reclusive figure, rarely giving media interviews and saying little publicly about the strategy or finances of his business.
This year, The Sunday Times Rich List estimated his personal wealth at more than £1.1bn, down marginally on 2019.
Mr Day reportedly turned down a university place to start his career in clothing manufacturing, and then took control of EWM in 2001 through a management buy-in.
An EWM spokesman declined to comment.