Marquee Brands – a global ‘brand accelerator’ and owner of 17 top brands – has acquired home, fashion and lifestyle brand, Laura Ashley.
The strategic acquisition retains Laura Ashley’s UK-based team and expands Marquee Brands’ global footprint with the opening of its first European headquarters in London.
The addition of Laura Ashley increases the retail value of Marquee Brands’ global portfolio to $4+ billion.
“Laura Ashley’s licensed business model and robust group of high-quality partners makes the brand a seamless addition to Marquee Brands,” commented Heath Golden, ceo at Marquee Brands. “We are excited to harness the strong affinity for this iconic brand and drive expansion across new platforms and partnerships. With the existing UK team in place, we are primed and ready to leverage Laura Ashley’s seven-decade legacy to unlock its future potential as a full lifestyle brand innovating new products and categories, offering unique collaborations and engaging multi-generational audiences in key markets worldwide.”
Tobias Nanda, head of brands at Gordon Brothers – the previous owner of Laura Ashley – continued: “As a firm that actively invests in and revitalises iconic brands like Laura Ashley, we acquired the British heritage brand out of insolvency in 2020 and built a flexible, scalable licensing business and a global e-commerce presence over the last four years. We could not be prouder of Laura Ashley’s growth under Carolyn D’Angelo’s leadership, the former president of Laura Ashley, and know the brand is in the right hands for continued global growth under Marquee Brands’ leadership.”
Laura Ashley has a fully licensed operating model in the US, UK, Japan, South Korea and other key markets in Asia. It operates in more than 200 lifestyle categories through a network of over 100 licensed partners with products available at thousands of points of sale. By leveraging its global network, Marquee Brands is poised to deepen Laura Ashley’s presence, driving new business across North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, EMEA and other key regions.
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