Laura Ashley to relaunch next year in partnership with Next

Retailer Laura Ashley will be relaunching in partnership with clothes giant Next after filing for administration in March.

Laura Ashley will be reintroducing its homeware into Next stores and online from spring 2021, after the two British retailers brokered a deal in October.

The 67-year-old brand announced it would permanently close 70 stores in mid-March, with plans to cut 268 office jobs and furlough more than 1,500 workers as it filed for administration.

Bosses hired PwC to advise on the administration process, blaming the impact of coronavirus for tipping it over the edge.

Laura Ashley will be relaunching under new owners Gordon Brothers, with “a British team of designers continuing to fly the flag” for the brand, according to a spokesperson.

Poppy Marshall-Lawton, head of brand and partnerships at Laura Ashley, said she is “very pleased” to be partnering with Next.

She said: “We felt partnering with such a dynamic and British retailer such as Next was the perfect progression.

“Laura Ashley herself was always inspired by the past but excited about the future, so getting the chance to reinvigorate the brand is a perfect new chapter in our already fabulous story.”

Chief executive at Next, Simon Wolfson, added the business is “delighted” to be partnering with Gordon Brothers and Laura Ashley.

He said: “We believe that the combination of the design vision of the Laura Ashley team alongside Next’s online and retail infrastructure can combine to revitalise this world-class brand.”