Retail Week speaks to Laura Ashley joint chief operating officer Nick Kaloyirou about the retailer’s journey and how it plans to continue growth.
It has been an interesting couple of years for the quintessentially British retailer Laura Ashley. While recent profits have been strong, its fashion business has had a bumpy ride over the past few years due to a weaker product offering and unseasonable weather. But it has been the retailer’s homeware and international business that have helped it stay profitable.
Laura Ashley, which is now 63 years old, has been gathering momentum recently as it continues to improve its home accessories offer and review style and fit in fashion. But joint chief operating officer Nick Kaloyirou insists the retailer has stayed true to its handwriting over the years.
“In my office I have some home furnishings catalogues. The earliest I have is 1988 and when you look through them you just see the consistency of the handwriting over the years, it’s the same feel, just updated and more contemporary,” he told Retail Week from a plush Laura Ashley sofa in its Westfield White City store.
“There’s definitely a handwriting, which I like to call floral - it’s something we should be proud of”
Nick Kaloyirou, Laura Ashley
“And there’s definitely a handwriting, which I like to call floral - it’s something we should be proud of,” he adds. “It’s staying true to the heritage Bernard and Laura Ashley set up all those years ago.”
Home
While furniture and decorating sales have remained flat, home accessories is one area in which Laura Ashley is reaping rewards. From cushions, lights and bed linen to throws, rugs and gift sets, Kaloyirou says homeware is an important part of the retailer’s long-term business strategy.
“It’s an easy way to accessories your home. Sofa and cabinet furniture is an investment, as well as home decorating, but much smaller amount of money can be spent to replace cushions, throws and maybe a new lampshade, and straight away you have a new look,” he explains.
Kaloyirou argues that Laura Ashley has not suffered like other furniture retailers because it offers customers a completely coordinated look as well as its bespoke made-for-measure upholstery service.
“I hear staff telling me all the time that customers are actually buying a room set and the catalogue reflects what is in store. We kind of do the job for you, and make it easy to put a look together. I think the reason we’ve done so well on accessories is the distinctive range of product. It allows you, without spending too much money, to buy into the Laura Ashley look.”
Somewhat surprisingly, a substantial 25% of Laura Ashley’s home accessory sales come from home fragrance. Kaloyirou says its range of kitchen products also does well – so well in fact it plans to enhance its range with cook and bakeware, as well as incorporating a crafting area into a number of stores. Kaloyirou says this is down to the popularity of baking and crafts, as well as programmes such as the Great British Bake Off and the Great British Sewing Bee.
“Customers still ask about our fat quarters [pieces of fabric approximately 18 inches by 22 inches] which we used to sell in the ‘80s,” he says. “So we’re introducing a whole range of craft and the fat quarters again - which tend to be made into quilts.”
Laura Ashley is also going to introduce craft offers such as candle-making and mug-decorating kits to ease customers into the new concepts.
Fashion
While the UK fashion business reported a decrease in sales and flat like-for-likes, Kaloyirou says fashion is still a very important part of the business.
“We had a couple of seasons which were a bit tougher, but we talked to our customers and did a big survey to listen to our customers and identify trends within our own business to develop a new range. And the spring ’15 range is a reaction to what our customers have told us.”
“The spring ’15 range is a reaction to what our customers have told us”
Nick Kaloyirou, Laura Ashley
Kaloyirou says Laura Ashley’s heritage is what brings its customers back to buy more. “You can buy beautiful fashion anywhere, so why come to Laura Ashley? You come to Laura Ashley because of the heritage of the brand, we’ve got the whole coordination, print and colour.”
“Print is still very very important, and we’ve looked at our fit, quality and store display. And the sales from the second half of last year are better.”
International
Internationally fashion is a strong point for Laura Ashley. It makes up 60% of sales abroad, compared with 17% in the UK. And Kaloyirou says it is a love for Britishness that resonates overseas.
“We really are a quintessentially British brand, which is what I think attracts people from overseas to shop at Laura Ashley,” says Kaloyirou, who points out that the retailer’s biggest franchise market is Japan, where more than 100 shops sell its offer.
Laura Ashley also has a presence in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Continental Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Greece, Spain and Chile, while America remains as a license business. Despite a 1.5% fall in international revenues due to weak global economies, Laura Ashley is committed to looking for opportunities in Asia, as well as other parts of the world where it is not represented at present.
With the bolstering of its international business and the success of home accessories in the UK, the future looks hopeful for this British retail veteran. And as long as it can truly understand its 35- to 55-year-old female customer when it comes to the fickle world of fashion, the retailer should be in good stead for what lies around the corner.
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