Liberty brand expansion

Liberty of London is to roll out its own product line and will dedicate the entire central ground floor atrium of its London store to the Liberty of London brand. In addition, the brand will also expand abroad, starting with the Japanese market followed by the US . Liberty chief executive Iain Renwick said the company had learned a great deal from selling luxury brands in its stores. This expertise led to the development and launching of its own fashion accessories range last fall.

The company is now in "close discussions with a number of key distribution houses in the Japanese market" to start rolling out its product range there. Renwick expects to form a joint venture in Japan by the beginning of next year, with an official launch in the pipeline for spring 2008. Liberty executives could not be reached for further comment. News of the expansion was revealed as the company reported steady first half sales of £20 million.