House of Fraser to update own label Linea

Linea, House of Fraser's longstanding own label is to get a makeover for autumn/winter 06. Linea, which has been sold in House of Fraser stores since 1997 has begun to look tired and outdated compared to its other brands, and will see a sound investment to freshen its look. HoF Chief Executive John Coleman told Draper's Record: "We'll look at new ways of displaying the brand and there will be a bit of repositioning too. We've got some very loyal House of Fraser customers and this is the ideal time to rebuild our own label and attract them to return to it."

The department store group has already made changes to its own label supply chain that that have cut lead times. It is believed HoF is further considering another womenswear own label to sit between Linea and its classic range Platinum.

House of Fraser, who closed its Dickens & Jones store on Regent Street this year, saw pre-tax profit more than halved to £22.3 million from £58.9m for the year ended January 29, but last year's results were flattered by a large property sale. Underlying profit was up 4.6% to £27.3m, thanks to better promotions and improved margins. Total sales increased 11.2% to £1.01 billion, boosted by store openings and acquisitions. Like-for-like sales were down 3.9%.