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LONDON — Jaeger, the iconic British clothing label, has brightened its fashion, cleaned up its finances and is preparing to expand internationally.
Chief executive Belinda Earl told WWD the company planned to reenter the U.S. market with retail and wholesale outlets, launch its first fragrance next year and expand via franchise agreements in the Far East.
“We withdrew for a while to retrench and return to our core brand values, but we’re ready to think globally once again,” said Earl.
“In the U.S., we’re looking to have at least one freestanding store — it will be in Manhattan — and we’ve started talking to the department stores. However, our return to the U.S. will not be in the short term,” she said.
Jaeger, founded in 1884, was one of Britain’s first luxury clothing brands, famous for its quality fabrics and classic shapes for men and women. Norman Parkinson shot some of the early ad campaigns, and the brand once boasted prime retail space worldwide, including a flagship on Madison Avenue in New York. Jaeger’s Regent Street flagship remains a retail landmark here.
But fashion and luxury consumers moved on, and by the early Nineties, Jaeger generally was viewed as a relic of the Eighties and no longer a relevant brand. At the time, it was owned by Coats plc, then the largest manufacturer of industrial sewing thread and consumer needlecraft products in the world. Its current owner is British retail entrepreneur Harold Tillman, who purchased the brand in 2003.
In 2004, Tillman hired Earl, who was formerly chief executive of the U.K. department store group Debenhams plc, and the two have set about relaunching the brand.
In September 2005, Jaeger introduced a younger and more directional line called Jaeger London; a wider accessories collection featuring bags, footwear, jewelry and gifts, and has earmarked 5 million pounds, or $9.8 million, for international expansion. The brand has 126 retail outlets in the U.K. and Europe.
Earlier this year, Jaeger took its first steps back to North America, opening a 1,500-square-foot store at Montreal’s Ogilvy complex. Stand-alone stores in Ottowa, Vancouver and Toronto are planned for 2007.
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Earl said the firm had tightened its finances, improving costs and margins. She said in the year to February 2006, operating profit rose 97 percent to 1.7 million pounds, or $3.4 million. Sales rose 3 percent to 58.1 million pounds, or $115 million, driven mainly by accessories and the Jaeger London line. The bulk of Jaeger’s sales are in the U.K.
She added that profits were up 100 percent for the first 41 weeks of the 2006 fiscal year, and sales were ahead 19 percent, year-to-year.
Earl said she had positioned Jaeger as an affordable luxury premium label that should sit alongside Episode, Max Mara, Burberry and Coach. She added that in the U.S. she would focus on the Jaeger London brand. Prices range from 299 pounds, or $592, for a jacket to 120 pounds, or $238, for a pair of trousers. The line is designed by an in-house team.
Next year, Jaeger will launch its first fragrance, Jaeger London, for women. The company is working with Juniper, which manufactures and distributes fragrances for Matthew Williamson and Richard James. The fragrance will be distributed in the U.K. and Europe, and a men’s component is planned.
In the Far East, the company is in the latter stages of negotiations with a franchise partner to open another 13 stores in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and India.
Earl said the U.K. market is a challenge. “U.K. retail is tough. It’s been a difficult season, and we’re aware we have to compete with everyone. We are very aware of what’s happening on the high street,” she said. “We just have to keep innovating and investing.”