Editors' Top Reads: News from Matches, Whistles, M&S and more...
Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.fashion team.
Frasers Group plans to revive Matches as exclusive members' club
Big news this week - huge. Frasers Group is planning a controversial post-administration pivot for Matches. The conglomerate, which purchased the brand and its intellectual property last year, has set out to relaunch the beloved luxury retailer as an exclusive members' club, pitching it as the "Soho House of retail".
An internal pitch deck obtained by The Times reveals that Frasers Group, owner of Sports Direct, Flannels and House of Fraser, intends to revive Matches as a members-only luxury fashion and lifestyle concept. I wonder which brands have been pitched too and whether they have confidence in the project, especially after the collapse of Matches left luxury houses Burberry, Gucci and Prada out of pocket for nearly £50 million collectively.
According to the pitch deck, the 'new' Matches will offer curated member services such as personalised shopping, early access to limited-edition pieces, luxury gifts and invitation-only events hosted in London. Membership will reportedly be curated by a committee of founder members and "global tastemakers", in a format reminiscent of high-profile private clubs like Soho House and The Arts Club.
Though some have been left with a bad taste in their mouths after Frasers Group shed its debt by placing Matches into administration, at least it is coming back in some capacity. But the question remains, who are these "global tastemakers", and is the high street retail giant the leading authority in luxury members' clubs? I am dying to get my hands on the prospective members' list.
Chloé Burney, Senior News & Features Writer.
Supermodel Yasmin Le Bon stars as face of George at Asda’s SS25 campaign
You have to hand it to the fashion decision makers at George at Asda for signing up the evergreen Yasmin Le Bon to front its new SS25 campaign – which went live this week. Not only does Le Bon still look amazing at 60, the Leeds-founded supermarket is also celebrating its 60th year, so it couldn’t be more fitting.
Certain well followed fashion editors have been raving about the collection online too. What it will do is create curiosity among style-hungry (and money savvy) women of all ages to go into their nearest Asda store to have a proper look, possibly for the first time.
Asda founded George, the UK’s first-ever supermarket clothing brand, in 1989 in collaboration with fashion designer and retail entrepreneur, George Davies, who had previously launched NEXT on the high street in 1982 and the NEXT Directory in 1987. The very same year that Le Bon’s supermodel credentials really got into gear as she was hired by Guess for a major advertising campaign.
Roll on 38 years, and too many catwalk shows for leading designers to mention, Le Bon is still doing the business, and Asda is about to reap the benefits.
Tom Bottomley, Contributing Editor.
Marks & Spencer 'working day and night' to manage impact of cyber attack
Marks & Spencer continued to make headlines this week following a "cyber incident" that has disrupted its operations for more than a week. In a fresh update today, the retailer said it is "working day and night" to manage the impact of the cyber attack, with CEO Stuart Machin adding that he is "really sorry" customers have been affected by the fallout from the incident.
M&S first reported the issue over the Easter weekend but has seen its operations impacted for more than a week. Initially, the company saw contactless payments and click and collect orders affected. Last Friday, it said it would no longer be able to take orders through its website or app in order to deal with the problem, which has been linked to a gang of teenage hackers.
What a nightmare - and it's not the only one! Harrods has become the latest retailer to confirm it had been impacted by an attempted hack. The luxury London department store said it had restricted internet access across its sites on Thursday as a precautionary measure following an attempt to gain unauthorised access to its systems. Meanwhile, Co-op also shut down parts of its IT infrastructure in response to a separate cyber threat.
Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.
Whistles names ex-Topshop Design Director as first Creative Director
In a newly created role, Whistles has appointed Jacqui Markham as its Creative Director, with the aim of redefining the brand’s design direction. This is exciting news as Markham made her name at Topshop, ASOS and Urban Outfitters Europe.
Whistles is one of those brands I used to love dearly but has somewhat fallen off my radar, so I am hoping I can fall back in love with it again. The brand was acquired by South African group TFG Brands in 2016, and it's great to see that it is now focusing its attention on the importance of design and creativity, having been steadily repositioning and modernising the brand in recent years.
"Her extensive experience on the global high street will be instrumental in driving both the brand and our product offering forward in our next stage of growth. We can’t wait for our customers to see Jacqui’s vision for the brand roll out across our channels in the coming months," the brand has said.
When the market is going through such a challenging time, it can be tempting to play it safe and pull back on creativity, so it's refreshing to see a brand do the opposite. I hope it pays off.
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
