Debenhams considers Boohoo and PrettyLittleThing concessions after return to growth

Debenhams Group is considering bringing Boohoo and PrettyLittleThing into physical retail as both youth fashion brands return to growth.

The potential shop-in-shops would provide a physical retail presence for the currently online-led labels and follow the $16 million disposal of Debenham's Nasty Gal youth brand last week. 

Youth brands return to growth

The proposal follows improved trading across Debenhams Group, which owns Boohoo and PrettyLittleThing alongside brands including Karen Millen, Coast, Warehouse and Oasis.

Group gross merchandise value (GMV) increased by 1.8% year-on-year in the six months to 31 August 2026, according to its latest trading update, with GMV growth accelerating from 0.5% in the first quarter to 2.9% in the second quarter of the year.

Debenhams led the performance with sales growth of 14.1%, while PrettyLittleThing, Boohoo and Karen Millen each returned to growth.

Reported EBITDA reached £20 million for the half-year, reversing a £3 million loss during the same period last year. Exceptional costs fell by 83.5% to £4 million.

Debenhams Group CEO Dan Finley said: “Our turnaround continues at pace. This is a strong first half and, importantly, one where growth accelerated as we went through it.”

PrettyLittleThing had already returned to profitability during the year ended 28 February 2026, after Debenhams Group's January decision to keep the brand instead of pursuing a sale further.

Karen Millen provides a physical retail precedent

Debenhams Group has recently used concessions to reintroduce another portfolio brand to bricks-and-mortar retail. Karen Millen returned to the UK high street in August after seven years, opening spaces within TFG-operated stores at Fosse Park in Leicester, Aberdeen’s Union Square and Liverpool ONE.

Those concessions stock a curated selection of occasionwear and bestselling designs, with further openings planned.

Marketplace strategy reshapes the group

All Debenhams Group brands have now moved to its marketplace model, which reduces reliance on owned stock and fixed costs.

Marketplace GMV represented 38.9% of group GMV during the half-year, up from 32.7% a year earlier, with around 30,000 partner brands on the platform. The group also shared that it wants marketplace sales to account for well over half of GMV in the future.

It is also targeting £100 million in cost savings by next year and expects net debt to be negligible by the end of February 2027, following the £90 million sale of its Sheffield distribution centre to Primark and the sale of the Nasty Gal brand.