Skip to main content
BoF Logo

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Mulberry Hurt by House of Fraser Collapse

The British luxury bag maker swung to an annual loss as it took a £3 million ($3.77 million) hit from the collapse of department store group House of Fraser.
Mulberry 'Lily' in oxblood | Source: Mulberry
By
  • Reuters

LONDON, United Kingdom — British luxury bag maker Mulberry swung to an annual loss as it took a £3 million ($3.77 million) hit from the collapse of department stores group House of Fraser, adding to general weakness in its home market.

The company, whose bags sell for around £1,000, reported a loss before tax of £5 million for the year ended March, compared with a pretax profit of £6.9 million a year earlier.

Mulberry said it had faced bad debt and fixed asset write-off of £2.1 million and fixed asset impairment costs of £800,000 from the House of Fraser collapse.

Mulberry operated concessions in House of Fraser, which was bought from administrators by Mike Ashley's Sports Direct .

ADVERTISEMENT

Mulberry said although it entered into an agreement with Sports Direct on House of Fraser, the business continued to trade below previous levels.

House of Fraser was an important partner for Mulberry, with its stores containing most of the luxury group's concessions outside London. House of Fraser stores accounted for 40 percent of Mulberry's UK outlets.

Mulberry also said the ongoing delay in agreeing the nature of Britain's potential exit from the European Union continued to create uncertainty that could impact the performance of the business.

The company's total revenue from the UK fell 6 percent to £121.6 million in the year ended March.

By Noor Zainab Hussain; editor: Gopakumar Warrier.

In This Article

© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Retail
Analysis and advice from the front lines of the retail transformation.

What a Fashion Company Is Worth Today

In an era of austerity on Wall Street, apparel businesses are more likely to be valued on their profits rather than sales, which usually means lower payouts for founders and investors. That is, if they can find a buyer in the first place.


What’s the Plan at H&M?

The fast fashion giant occupies a shrinking middle ground between Shein and Zara. New CEO Daniel Ervér can lay out the path forward when the company reports quarterly results this week.


view more

Subscribe to the BoF Daily Digest

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections
© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Accessibility Statement.
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections