Karen Millen. The name without the shop.
Karen Millen collapsed in 2019 and has come back on the high street inside a rival's shops. The brand and the shop are now two separate businesses, and that is the point.
THE GIST ON KAREN MILLEN: "Borrowed Floor"
How did Karen Millen come back?
In 2019, Karen Millen collapsed. A rival bought the name and the website for 18 million and closed all 32 shops. This month, it returned to the high street, inside Hobbs.
Boohoo bought it out of administration and got the name and the website. That's it. No leases, buildings or staff. 32 stores and 117 concession stands closed. It bought 40 years of a brand meaning something, with no baggage.
Why did a website not work?
It worked, until it didn't, because you can't try anything on on a website.
So it's back in three locations, in stores run by TFG, who own Hobbs, Phase Eight and Whistles. It's renting floor space in a competitor's shop, and paying for it is a cost of selling rather than a cost of property.
What is a shop for now?
The shop has stopped being a point of sale and become a showroom. Somewhere for the customer to touch a thing, try it on and maybe walk out with it. The actual selling sits somewhere else entirely.
That's why the return has almost no stakes, and it can be undone in a month if it isn't working.
Is this just one brand?
It's the same trade happening everywhere. Nobody buys a building, they rent access to it. You don't own an office, you rent a desk. The trip, not the album. The subscription.
You go from assets you own to a rental agreement you pay forever, and the rent can be raised. You have to be in dire straits for an asset to be taken off you. But access can be removed at any point, when the landlord decides you're worth more as a tenant elsewhere.
Karen Millen can be pulled off the rail in a month. That's the price of never having to commit to anything. You never have to stay, but you never really belong either.
Do you still need to try clothes on before buying?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
Who owns Karen Millen?
Boohoo bought it out of administration in 2019 and got the name and the website, but no leases, buildings or staff.
Where is Karen Millen back on the high street?
In three locations, inside stores run by TFG, who own Hobbs, Phase Eight and Whistles.
Why is renting floor space low risk?
It is a cost of selling rather than a cost of property, so the return can be undone in a month if it isn't working.
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