Shop Direct-owned Very aims to take on Zara and Next with new collection Definitions, which targets a slightly older, professional woman.

Shop Direct group product director Karl Doyle, who joined from Marks & Spencer last month, said: “The team identified a gap in the market for the 25-to-40-year-old woman, the sort of gap that Zara does well and you see in the first 50 pages of the Next Directory. This is where the cash cow is.”

Definitions, which debuts as a capsule collection next month ahead of a full launch of a 100-piece collection in September, is a day to night-time range for a more professional woman.

Doyle said it will be priced at 10% below Zara, however, he believes it has “price elasticity” if the retailer invests more in the quality of fabrics and trims.

Doyle believes the collection could become as large as its core own-brand Love Label. Definitions is aimed at a Love Label shopper’s older sister and is “distilling the fashion” of the younger brand, according to Doyle.

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