We are somewhat cocooned and have had a very successful collection this
Posted in General on 22. Sep, 2010
“We are somewhat cocooned and have had a very successful collection this year. Early signs for 2005 are good, with sales substantially ahead of last year.”Joseph’s sales for the year were up 3.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis, and profits rose by more than one-third to £13.3m.. Joseph’s 500 employees in the UK have had their jobs safeguarded.Keith Watson, the finance director, said Joseph commanded such interest because it is one of the few British fashion labels with international reach.News of the sale came as Joseph announced record results for the year to the end of March. Despite selling his equity stake in the company, he will stay on with the rest of the management team to run the European side of the business.
It also has a manufacturing plant in Italy where some Joseph designs are made.The 69-year-old Mr Ettedgui, a Moroccan-born former hairdresser who began his fashion empire from a salon on Chelsea’s Kings Road in the Sixties, will still have a hands-on role at the company after the sale.He set up his first Joseph branch in 1971, also on the Kings Road, and still plays a key part in designing each season’s collection. Joseph, the clothing brand which has brought luxury designs to Britain’s high streets since the Seventies, has been sold to a Japanese fashion group for £140m. Other small shareholders include L Capital, an investment arm of the luxury goods group LVMH.Onward Kashiyama already has a trading relationship with Joseph, producing its menswear range under licence in Japan. Mr Frere’s investment business, Compagnie Nationale ?ortefeuille, had bought it on a five-year investment term and wanted to cash in its stake, prompting the sale process.
Genting, a Malaysian gaming operator, has amassed stakes of 20 per cent in Stanley and 29.9 per cent in LCI over the past year, sparking rumours that it is planning to combine the two.But Bob Wiper, the chief executive of Stanley, said there were no plans to merge with LCI.. There was also disappointment that the capital William Hill had promised to return to shareholders will be retained as a result of the acquisition.David Harding, the chief executive of William Hill, defended the price. “It is a full price but it is fair given the strategic benefits it will bring,” he said. “Stanley’s shops are less profitable than ours but that is the opportunity for us – to improve on its performance.”Up to 50 shops may be sold off to alleviate competition concerns.Speculation is mounting that Stanley, now a pure casino operator, will merge with its rival, London Clubs International (LCI).