Marquee Manufacturers rang in 2025 with an enormous new deal — scooping up U.Ok. trend mainstay Laura Ashley.
The 72-year-old model provides $750 million in retail gross sales to Marquee, which makes a speciality of utilizing licensing offers to speed up established manufacturers world wide.
Most of the companies that enter the model administration world have their very own working items and must be transformed to an mental property and licensing-heavy mannequin, however Laura Ashley is already there.
Gordon Brothers purchased the model out of administration in 2020 and reset its enterprise, constructing it again up with licensed companions. The model is already distributed in additional than 80 international locations by way of wholesalers and digital marketplaces and has a complete of 150 shops and shops-in-shop.
Now Heath Golden, chief government officer of Marquee, is able to take the already rising enterprise to the following degree — whereas additionally utilizing the Laura Ashley relationships and U.Ok. workplace to assist construct out his different manufacturers.
“There are a variety of complimentary synergistic issues we are able to do right here,” Golden instructed WWD. “Laura Ashley actually has achieved very nicely constructing itself out throughout Europe and Asia.”
Marquee, which was established by Neuberger Berman in 2014, already works with about 225 licenses. Whereas there may be some overlap with Laura Ashley’s 100 or so companions, Golden stated there are many alternatives to make some new connections.
“We are going to speed up the good development of Laura Ashley throughout its companions, very seamlessly with no disruption, as we then additionally assume to search for different alternatives to additional speed up and cross-pollinate throughout different classes and geographies,” Golden stated.
The long-lasting model was based in 1953 by husband-and-wife group Bernard and Laura Ashley, who developed a loyal following within the Seventies and Eighties, catching the high-profile consideration of a younger Princess Diana and different Sloane Rangers with its frilly, Victorian-inspired blouses and print clothes. It additionally had a well-established dwelling merchandise enterprise.
Laura died in 1985 and Bernard saved operating the enterprise, which had gone public, till 1993. The model had misplaced substantial momentum by then and after Bernard Ashley stepped apart it struggled by way of a collection of administration modifications and tried reinventions that by no means took off. The corporate was later managed by Malaysian Chinese language businessman Khoo Kay Peng till it filed for administration and handed to Gordon Brothers.
Laura Ashley dwelling.
Courtesy
With Laura Ashley, Marquee now has 18 manufacturers throughout three broad classes — dwelling and culinary, trend and life-style and lively and outside— together with Martha Stewart, Ben Sherman, Totes, Isotoner, Motherhood Maternity and Physique Glove.
It’s a portfolio that, with Laura Ashley, produces greater than $4 billion in annual retail gross sales and is about to continue to grow, organically and thru extra acquisitions this 12 months.
With the deal, Marquee is choosing up Laura Ashley’s 18 U.Ok.-based staff who’ve constructed the enterprise to its present state.
“We now have an expanded group now, firmly planting a flag in Europe with a brand new U.Ok. workplace…and an excellent infrastructure to leverage,” Golden stated.
Whereas the corporate plans to focus “in the beginning” on natural development, the CEO stated Marquee would additionally do “some variety of acquisitions” in 2025.
The IP gamers, which along with Marquee embrace Genuine Manufacturers Group and WHP International, have been steadily snapping up manufacturers throughout trend. Simply final 12 months, Genuine purchased Champion, whereas Marquee acquired Totes and Isotoner and WHP inked a deal to tackle Vera Wang.
Whereas it’s a enterprise mannequin that through the years has snapped up many drained manufacturers and tried to squeeze extra development out of them, proponents say the method is altering, with higher companies coming into the pipeline as trend’s enterprise panorama shifts.
Golden described Laura Ashley as a powerful enterprise that’s now positioned to develop stronger.
“The model administration mannequin just isn’t essentially about shopping for distressed manufacturers, it’s about rising timeless manufacturers,” Golden stated.
“When you have got a model that has sustained itself over 50 years, it’s well-known and with our skillset must be very able to being expanded by class and by geography,” he stated. “That’s the place our mannequin works greatest. [Laura Ashley] is a model that has been round for over 70 years, has an aesthetic that has endured and confirmed to be timeless. Europe, Asia are rising shortly, the U.S. and different continents there out there for development, different classes out there there for development. That’s the place Marquee shines.
“We’re actually on the inflection level,” Golden stated. “We’ve constructed very methodically and strategically at Marquee.”
To handle its development spurt, the corporate named Rachel Terrace chief business and development officer, placing her on high of all three verticals. John Hayes got here on board as chief monetary officer whereas Joseph Zarro joined as chief enterprise growth officer and Natasha Fishman was named chief advertising and marketing officer.