Liberty chief executive Ian Renwick is determined to rework the loss-making department store into a destination emporium for 'top-end fashion accessories and must-have collectibles'.
Renwick's top-to-toe overhaul of the landmark store is close to completion. Work starts next month on the atrium of the Tudor building, which will house a high-end accessories offer.
It will comprise a mixture of luxury brands, the latest own-label product, and vintage lines from Hermes and Louis Vuitton. Renwick is keen to draw 'fashion-directional individuals' back to the store. He is also reducing the fashion concession space to just 5 per cent, and is making careful use of the Liberty print archive.
'You will not come to Liberty to find a range of concessions - you can go elsewhere for that,' he said. 'We're not a department store, we're an emporium where you'll find product from a Liberty point-of-view, and layered through that will be Liberty-branded product.'
Liberty is collaborating with designers, such as Eden and Macintosh, to create small collections. Renwick reported that sales from the revamped contemporary fashion floor are running 50 per cent ahead since the February relaunch.
The fourth floor is the last major focus of Renwick's attentions, where he intends to create an 'integrated home offer' by the autumn. He promised the end result will not be the typical department store offer. 'I'd rather open a vein than do that,' he insists.
In the six months to December 31, 2003, the retailer's operating loss widened from£300,000 to£800,000 on sales of£21.2 million.
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