Biba and in-house brands boost House of Fraser

House of Fraser saw its sales grow from own-label brands. Its Biba fashion-brand became the group’s best-selling women’s wear label less than two weeks after it was relaunched. “I’m not surprised at Biba’s success, but I am surprised at how

quickly it has got to number one,” John King, chief executive, said on Wednesday.

“It’s taken £500,000 in 10 days and that’s competing against established brands such as Oasis and Karen Millen.”

For the six months ending in late July, revenues at House of Fraser rose 5.5 per cent to £481m, and like-for-like sales grew by 8.4 per cent. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation grew by 22 per cent from £10.7m to £13m.

House of Fraser recently relaunched Biba, the 1960s fashion label and boutique founded by the designer Barbara Hulanicki. Synonymous with 1960s and 1970s fashion, the label was revived in 2006 by the designer Bella Freud and relaunched again earlier this month as a House of Fraser brand. Since Biba’s first day of trading in House of Fraser less than two weeks ago, it has become the group’s best-selling women’s wear line.

Biba is part of a wider strategy by House of Fraser to increase the proportion of sales it derives from own-brands, which typically carry a higher margin, rather than in-store concessions of third party designers. It is a strategy also being followed by Debenhams, which announced last week that its full-year results, to be published in October, would show no change in like-for-like sales in spite of a programme of store reorganisation.

Sales of own-label brands at House of Fraser grew by 62 per cent in the six months to the end of July, and now account for 11 per cent of in-store sales. Sales of third-party concession brands by contrast grew by only 7 per cent in the same period.

The group is targeting an own-brand sales contribution of at least 30 per cent within the next three years.

Image: Biba
Source: Financial Times