Gordon Brothers acquired the Laura Ashley brand, archives and related intellectual property from the Laura Ashley group’s U.K. administrators.
Founded in 1953 by husband and wife team Bernard and Laura Ashley, the business grew into a retail, wholesale, licensing and franchising business selling both home furnishings and fashion products. More recently, the brand expanded globally with outposts in South Korea, the Ukraine, the United States and Japan.
“Laura Ashley is a true giant among British lifestyle brands, possessing a unique ability to span geographies, product categories and price points,” Ramez Toubassy, president of brands for Gordon Brothers, said. “We feel humbled and inspired by the responsibility to reignite Mrs. Ashley’s original vision while delivering unique and contemporary products to both long-time followers and new customers from around the world.”
As new owners of the brand, Gordon Brothers will partner with management to evaluate several go-to-market strategies for the business, some of which could include retaining a streamlined portfolio of retail stores in key markets within the U.K. and Ireland. Gordon Brothers intends to place an emphasis on building e-commerce, developing more strategic wholesale relationships and expanding the portfolio of licensees and franchisees globally.
“Throughout this process, Gordon Brothers has shown a passion for the Laura Ashley brand and I am delighted that, under their ownership, there will be a real opportunity to grow its profile worldwide,” Rob Lewis, joint administrator of several of the Laura Ashley group companies in the UK, said. “Whilst we have taken an important step forward in securing the sale of the brand, we continue to explore opportunities to reshape the UK store-based retail and manufacturing businesses and are very grateful for the efforts of the entire team at Laura Ashley in helping us with those discussions.”
Robert Russell, UK head of restructuring at DLA Piper, advised Gordon Brothers on the transaction.
