Asprey sales rise

Conjecture that Asprey has run into trouble has not appeared to distress Lawrence Stroll too much. Speaking to WWD last week, he said: "This is an endurance race, not a sprint. Will we win the endurance race? I don't know. But we certainly haven't entered the sprint race."

Stroll is partners with Silas Chou, Edgar Bronfman Jr, Morgan Stanley Capital and the TAG Group. He firmly stated that he and they are "absolutely committed" to the A&G business and are very supportive of Garrard designer Jade Jagger.

He did admit that although the Asprey flagship store on Bond Street was doing well, the New York branch was not enjoying the sames success. "New York was a marketing experience, and not necessarily a pleasant one. We opened a store that was larger than the business required. In hindsight, would we do it again? I don't know. But we're now expanding all over the world, and sales at A&G are up 59 per cent," said Stroll.

A&G Group owns both the Asprey and Garrard brands. The group announced a sales increase of 59 per cent to GBP 26.7 million during the year ending 31 March.