Value fashion retailer Ethel Austin and its homewares brand Au Naturale have announced ambitious expansion plans which will see them open between 50 and 100 new stores this year, on top of 34 openings in 2009.
Serial entrepreneur Elaine McPherson bought bought the Au Naturale brand and 46 of the Au Naturale stores from the administrators in May 2008 and three months later she did the same with more than 270 Ethel Austin stores. Her strategy has been to combine the two into large-format stores of around 12,000 sq ft and this is already paying dividends.
“The world of fashion and interiors are now so intricately linked that it makes sense for us to promote our merchandise under one roof,” said marketing manager Janet Cahill. “Customers really do want to change their home accessories as often as they do their wardrobe.”
Locations already trading under the new format range from Londonderry and Bangor in Northern Ireland to Fort Kinnaird in Edinburgh, Llanelli in Wales and English towns as diverse as Reading and Billingham.
The company has appointed Hartnell Taylor Cook as its property advisor in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and Mason Owen and Partners to advise it in Scotland.
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