Chinese Buyers Appear: Acquisition Of British Princess LK Bennett

The British fashion brand LK Bennett has formally filed for bankruptcy because of its failure in financing and looking for new buyers.

As of March, LK Bennett has launched the UK headquarters redundancy measures, which is expected to involve more than 50 employees, while closing 5 offline stores in the UK.

At present, Chinese buyers have emerged as the Rebecca Feng of China's franchise.

According to official WeChat of L.K. Bennett, there are 4 stores in China, including flagship stores, women's wear shops and women's shoe shops, which are located in three stores in China World Trade Center, Beijing and SKP in Beijing, and another boutique in Wuhan.

In addition, the brand also has official flagship store in Tmall mall.

Chinese buyers or signing tonight

According to foreign media reports, the current Rebecca Feng of LK Bennett franchise in China is expected to sign an agreement later tonight.

Through our investigation, we know that LK Bennett's franchise in China should be Ying Ling Jin (Beijing) Trading Co., Ltd.

Its Tmall management qualification shows that corporate Tang Heng and Ms. Feng are executive directors of the company.

Popular princess shoes

LK Bennett is one of the favorite high street brands of the British Kate princess. It is her preference for L.K. Bennett that made this low-key white-collar brand become a national brand, and its shoes are popular all the time.

Kate's favorite is a pair of naked L.K.Bennett high-heeled shoes, often wearing it out of various occasions, so that this shoe has become a symbol of her, the shoes are even known as "princess shoes."

Industry evaluation celebrity effect is a double-edged sword, with the name of the royal family, LK Bennett began to lose its position and the price rose sharply, resulting in the general consumer no longer able to afford, so that there was a business problem.

L.K. Bennett was founded in London in 1990, locating the luxury fashion brand. Its main business includes high-end ladies shoes, ladies' bags, women's garments and accessories.

At present, the brand has 130 stores in the world, of which, there are 41 independent stores and 480 employees in the UK.

Many participating in the auction, the sale is not the first time.

Prior to the competition, there were SportsDirect, a famous British sporting goods retailer, a British footwear brand DuneLondon, and a British retail tycoon Philip Day.

In fact, L.K.Bennett sold its shares for the first time in 2008. Linda Bennett sold the controlling stake of L.K.Bennett to Phoenix Equity Partners, when the paction value was between 80 million pounds and 100 million pounds. After completion, Linda Bennett retained some shares and seats on the board.

In addition, in the spring of 2017, Linda Bennett joined the L.K.Bennett management team again as a consultant.

Since its sale, the performance of L.K.Bennett has not been ideal.

In the 2016 fiscal year, the net loss increased from 1 million 100 thousand to 4 million 500 thousand pounds, and the turnover decreased by 1% to 92 million 300 thousand pounds.

Gross profit also fell by 2% to 58 million 300 thousand pounds.

L.K.Bennett's comparable sales increased in 2016, but the increase was only 1%.

According to the latest earnings report, LK Bennett achieved sales of 77 million 400 thousand pounds in the fiscal year ending July 29, 2017, down 1.8% from the same period last year, and recorded a pre tax loss of 48 million pounds due to goodwill impairment and business restructuring, operating losses of 5 million 900 thousand pounds.

In September 2017, Linda Bennett bought the LK Bennett shares held by Phoenix Equity Partners in the private equity fund, and the specific paction amount was not disclosed.

The current estimate of LK Bennett is unclear, but the valuation will be less than 80 million to 100 million pounds 10 years ago.