George Davies, the entrepreneur who helped create Next, Per Una and George at Asda, is poised to open fashion retailer FG4 in the UK.

The business will launch an ecommerce site for womenswear and kidswear this month, and it aims to open 100 stores opening within the next 12 months.

Davies told The Mail on Sunday he has already identified locations in market towns rather than big cities and shopping centres in order to avoid high rents. He is also considering working with local franchise partners.

FG4 is planning a series of fundraising events in schools based on a ‘party planning’ business model that will see consumers pay £5 entry in order to browse clothing that has a 20% discount. The proceeds from the entry fees will go to the school. The first of these events will be held on March 12 with a fashion show at a school in the Cotswolds.

“This is a very hands-on operation we’re planning for FG4, which I think a big business would find it very difficult to copy,” Davies told the newspaper.

“We’ll build a structure in different parts of the country all based around links with the schools. It will all run from a central website but I’ll probably take warehouses locally and we’ll appoint people from the areas to organise it. Ultimately there will be a lot of people involved.”

Davies first launched FG4 as a kidswear chain in the Middle East four years ago.

Topics