M&S acquires Jaeger brand out of administration

Retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) is reported to have acquired the fashion brand Jaeger out of administration. However, the acquisition does not include Jaeger’s 63 remaining UK stores, leaving the future of around 250 employees in doubt.

M&S head of clothing and home Richard Price said: “We have bought the Jaeger brand and are in the final stages of agreeing the purchase of product and supporting marketing assets from the administrators of Jaeger Retail Limited.”

Jaeger, which was part of Philip Day’s EWM Group, previously employed 347 staff at 76 stores and concessions. However, the business entered administration in November 2020 along with fellow EWM Group retailer Peacocks.

Following the appointment of administrators FRP Advisory, 13 of Jaeger’s locations were closed, with 97 staff made redundant.

EWM Group retailers were hit by the impact of COVID-19 on the UK high street, which, for many, exacerbated existing problems, such as a historic disregard for online retail.

Aside from Jaeger and Peacocks, other EWM Group retailers to enter administration last year included Bonmarché, Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Ponden Home. The Jaeger acquisition does not include its event and formalwear brands Jacques Vert and Austin Reed. These brands will continue to be part of Philip Day’s Dubai-based holding intellectual property company, which is not in administration.

The acquisition forms part of M&S’s attempts to diversify its online offering of brands, as it looks to rival retailer Next. Jaeger will represent M&S’s first fashion acquisition since it bought Per Una in 2004.

Richard price added: “We have set out our plans to sell complementary third-party brands as part of our Never the Same Again programme to accelerate our transformation and turbocharge online growth.”


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