Dive Brief:
- Marquee Brands has acquired home, lifestyle and fashion company Laura Ashley from Gordon Brothers, according to a Thursday press release sent to Fashion Dive.
- Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. However, the addition of the U.K.-based brand will boost Marquee’s global brand portfolio to more than $4 billion in retail sales, per the release.
- Through the terms of the deal, Laura Ashley’s U.K.-based team will remain in place, Marquee said in the release. This marks the opening of Marquee’s first European headquarters in London.
Dive Insight:
Gordon Brothers acquired the Laura Ashley brand, archives and intellectual property from its U.K. administrators PwC in April 2020, about one month after the brand had declared insolvency.
Later that year, Gordon Brothers established a partnership with Next to launch a Laura Ashley homeware collection. The following year, Laura Ashley debuted a fashion collaboration with Batsheva. In 2022, Laura Ashley expanded in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, China, India and the Middle East through a partnership with IMG.
In Thursday’s release, Tobias Nanda, head of brands at Gordon Brothers, said the brand has seen a turnaround.
“As a firm that actively invests in and revitalizes iconic brands like Laura Ashley, we acquired the British heritage brand out of insolvency in 2020 and built a flexible, scalable licensing business and a global e-commerce presence over the last four years,” Nanda said. “We could not be prouder of Laura Ashley’s growth under Carolyn D’Angelo’s leadership, the former President of Laura Ashley, and know the brand is in the right hands for continued global growth under Marquee Brands’ leadership.”
Heath Golden, CEO of Marquee Brands, said that Laura Ashley’s licensed business model and its group of partners made the brand “a seamless addition” to the Marquee portfolio.
“We are excited to harness the strong affinity for this iconic brand and drive expansion across new platforms and partnerships,” Golden said in the release. “With the existing UK team in place, we are primed and ready to leverage Laura Ashley’s seven-decade legacy to unlock its future potential as a full lifestyle brand innovating new products and categories, offering unique collaborations and engaging multi-generational audiences in key markets worldwide.”
Marquee plans to integrate Laura Ashley into its roster as a fully licensed operating model, per the release. The brand is active in more than 200 lifestyle categories through a network of more than 100 licensed partners in the U.S., the U.K., Japan, South Korea and other markets in Asia, and Marquee said it plans “to deepen Laura Ashley’s presence, driving new business across North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, EMEA and other key regions.”
In addition to Laura Ashley, Marquee serves as a brand owner, licensor, marketer and media company for a portfolio of labels including Martha Stewart, Emeril Lagasse, Sur La Table, BCBG, Ben Sherman, Bruno Magli, Totes, Isotoner, Destination Maternity, A Pea in The Pod, Dakine and Body Glove.
