The CEO of Frasers Group Michael Murray has revealed luxury retailer Flannels is “not as scalable” as Sports Direct.
Murray, who took over the parent company of the two retailers from Retail tycoon Mike Ashley, revealed, despite Flannels being his “pride and joy”, Sports Direct is already expanding internationally, including into Asia.
This comes as Frasers Group’s sports retail side of the business, including Sports Direct, still turns over triple the revenue as its premium lifestyle arm, despite not growing as rapidly.
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Speaking to the BBC, Murray admitted Ashley, brands the luxury retailer as “bonkers”.
“He can’t understand why people would spend so much on luxury clothing. But he understands that he doesn’t understand, and he understands you have to be relevant to consumers,” he said.
“He understands when he sees the results. It’s quite remarkable what we’ve done.”
This comes as Frasers Group saw revenues of just £520 million in the six months ended October last year, an increase of 25% on the previous year.
As a result, the group revealed it is now reinventing the company by targeting “new luxury, aspirational” customers, aged between 18-30, who have been taught to aspire to have expensive products by social media, Murray states.
“Many are still living at home, so have been sheltered from rising interest rates, rents or high energy bills. They like to spend their disposable income on health, fitness and clothing,” he said.
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