SHUTTERSTOCK
Fashion and home furnishings retails has already closed 40 stores in the UK since 2015. Laura Ashley is owned by Malayan United Industries (MUI).
Andrew Khoo Boo Yeow, MUI’s newly appointed executive chairman, said: “The direction I want to go is to have not so many stores, but maybe the ones we have could be larger. It’s more about showcasing the brand. It doesn’t really matter if they buy online or offline, we just want them to get inspired.”
“We’re moving to Asia in a much bigger way. “We have a regional office in Singapore, it’s a dedicated office of about 10 people and it’s focused purely on ecommerce into China.
“Once we get a significant foothold in digital retail in China we can look at the physical stores rollout.”
He also said that her wanted to “showcase the brand” and the company would look into moving staff from any store to the larger stores.
Laura Ashley issued a profit warning after they reported their disappointing 2017 Christmas trading figures. At one-point shares fell by 26%. Recently the firm has invested in hotels and have two: Laura Ashley The Manor in Elstree and Laura Ashley The Belsfield in the Lake District.
They currently have 160 stores but will go down to 120 stores
The internet is becoming the first choice for shoppers leaving high street stores/branches to struggle survival. Everyone is turning to shopping online as it is seen as an easier way to shop; this is because you can do it from the comfort of your home and there is no need to face traffic. This is leaving high street stores at a high risk of losing profits. Online shopping is a big hit to many people as you can compare prices of foods and clothes etc. Online shopping saves you from the long trails around shops to find the specific item you want, this is a big reason why people find online shopping better than going in-store.
Online shopping affects the high street because the internet is where the customers first choice is, this means the high street are losing money as the market are invested in online shopping. The rent for stores is increasing so it is becoming a struggle for retailer to meet the prices and still earn large profits to run the business. As prices of rent are rising it means stores are having to increase the prices of their products to survive. By doing this they are losing customers as with research they can find cheaper prices online.
