LK Bennett to open its first store in Russia

LK Bennett will open its first store in Russia this week after receiving a £2m cash injection from its private equity backers.

The premium women's footwear and fashion retailer, which is backed by Phoenix and Sirius, is also planning to open two stores in mainland China, one the World Trade Center in New York and one in Qatar later this year. Around 25% of the business's sales are already international, according to a report in The Telegraph.

Last autumn it was revealed that former BHS CEO Darren Topp had been appointed to the position of CEO at LK Bennett. Topp, who was credited with attempting to save BHS from its collapse last year, replaced interim CEO Robert Bensoussan who returned to his role as chairman. Michael Hitchcock, a former financial consultant at BHS, also joined the business.

The pair have been overhauling the management team since they arrived and are also planning to bolster the UK business with new concessions in department store John Lewis.

LK Bennett, which was founded as a footwear brand in 1990 by Linda Bennett, has 130 stores, of which 87 are in the UK.