MIKE ASHLEY'S FRASERS GROUP ACQUIRES HARVEY NICHOLS

Mike Ashley's Frasers Group has acquired Harvey Nichols, the 195-year-old luxury department store. The purchase removes Harvey Nichols from insolvency proceedings. The chain employs 1,200 staff in the UK and was put up for sale in June by owner Sir Dickson Poon. Next Plc, a rival retailer, had withdrawn its interest in acquiring the business earlier in the summer.

Harvey Nichols will join Frasers Group's portfolio of brands, which includes Sports Direct, Flannels, House of Fraser and Evans Cycles. Frasers Group has been building its luxury retail offering, having recently acquired designer brands Hugo Boss and Gieves & Hawkes. However, concerns have been raised by some designer brands stocked by Harvey Nichols regarding the acquisition. In December 2023, Frasers purchased online luxury marketplace Matchesfashion for £52 million but placed it into administration three months later, resulting in 273 job losses and leaving designer brands owed a total of £36 million.

The acquisition marks a significant addition to Frasers Group's retail empire. Ashley, who founded his business in 1982 with a sports shop in Maidenhead, described Harvey Nichols as being in a "death spiral" prior to the takeover. The department store's future operational structure and staffing levels have not yet been disclosed.