LONDON — Matthew Williamson Ltd. has a new investor, the Icelandic company Baugur Group.
Baugur has taken a minority equity stake in the London-based design house, and the plan is to build Matthew Williamson’s retail network and set up a stand-alone accessories business.
“There is funding for two stores, the first of which will be in New York,” said Joseph Velosa, chief executive and co-founder of Matthew Williamson.
Velosa said the New York store was slated to open in September 2007. Velosa will be traveling to New York this week to prepare for Williamson’s runway show and to scout for a retail space.
The second store likely will be in Paris, although that is not confirmed. The second store is set to open in September 2008.
Williamson currently has one flagship, on Bruton Street in London. The designer has shop-in-shops at Harvey Nichols in Hong Kong and Dubai, at Le Printemps in Paris and at Al Othman in Kuwait. He has 160 wholesale clients worldwide.
Williamson has annual sales of about $15.2 million, and the business is co-owned by the designer and Velosa.
Neither Velosa nor Baugur would comment on the size of Baugur’s investment.
Velosa added the new funds also were earmarked for a “proper” bag and shoe business. “We’d like to treat it as a separate business, and the plan is to launch it for the fall 2007 season,” he said.
Baugur has holdings in the service, retail and real estate sectors in Britain, Scandinavia and Iceland.
The company made its investment in Matthew Williamson’s business through its recently established Venture Business Unit.
Velosa said he and Williamson met with a variety of potential investors, but liked Baugur’s philosophy.
Gunnar Sigurdsson, managing director of U.K. investments at Baugur Group, called Williamson a “trusted, talented and well-recognized” designer.
“The company has been profitable from year one, and we are excited to be part of this next stage in the company’s development,” Sigurdsson said.
The Williamson investment is just one in a string of recent transactions Baugur has made in British fashion businesses.
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Most recently, the Icelandic company led a consortium that put in a successful $664 million bid for the British department store chain House of Fraser. Subject to shareholders’ approval, that deal will become effective Nov. 8.
Earlier this year, Baugur took a 50 percent stake in PPQ, a label designed by Percy Parker and Amy Molyneaux. As a result of that investment, PPQ will be opening its first store, on London’s Conduit Street later this month.
Baugur Group’s other British investments include the jewelry retailer Goldsmiths and the toy emporium Hamleys, women’s apparel chains Jane Norman and MK One, and Mosaic Fashions, which incorporates specialty retail chains Karen Millen and Whistles.