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LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - British retailer Marks & Spencer
has purchased the Jaeger brand from its administrators
as part of a strategy to bolster its clothing division with new
names, it said on Monday.
M&S said it was in the final stages of agreeing the purchase
of product and supporting marketing assets from the
administrators of Jaeger Retail Limited and expected to fully
complete the deal later this month. No figures were disclosed.
Before going into administration Jaeger was part of Philip
Day's Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group.
Last year, M&S chief executive Steve Rowe said the retailer
would sell other brands to broaden the appeal of its business.
In September it partnered online with Nobody’s Child and has
also collaborated with Ghost and most recently with Early
Learning Centre.
“We have set out our plans to sell complementary third party
brands as part of our Never the Same Again programme to
accelerate our transformation and turbocharge online growth,"
said Richard Price, managing director of M&S's clothing and home
division.
Last week, M&S, which also sells food, reported another big
fall in sales of clothing and homeware in the Christmas quarter
as COVID-19 restrictions hit demand and closed space, factors it
said were masking progress made on its turnaround plan.
Shares in M&S closed Monday down 2.6%, extending
year-on-year losses to 30%.
(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Costas Pitas and Toby
Chopra)