Ashley jobs safe despite closures

Laura Ashley styles have struggled to stay in fashion

Laura Ashley says the jobs of more than 900 staff in mid Wales are safe despite the company's decision to close most of its branches in continental Europe.

The firm has off-loaded the bulk of its remaining continental branches for the nominal sum of two euros, or £1.39.

The group agreed to sell 11 branches across Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg to Dutch firm Laben Holdings.

Laben has also signed a renewable four-year franchise agreement with Laura Ashley to operate the branches, most of which are in Holland.

Jobs at Carno and Newtown will not be affected by this change Laura Ashley spokesman

The sale brings the company's strategy of pulling out of continental Europe - through either closure or selling branches to franchises - near completion.

But a company spokesman said all 930 jobs at its acounts centre in Carno and its Texplan plant in Newtown would not be hit.

Reprieve

"The new franchise operation will require us to supply them with Laura Ashley products," he said.

"We will provide this service in the same way as we do for our 210 stores in the UK.

"Jobs at Carno and Newtown will not be affected by this change."

He added that the future of the Laura Ashley store at Llanidloes was also secure.

In 2001 Laura Ashley announced it was creating a further 120 jobs at its Newtown and Carno plants, which were reprieved from closure in 2000 after a detailed business review.

Newtown is one of the firm's main centres

A subsidiary company - Texplan manufacturing - was formed so that Laura Ashley could take on work from other companies.

As well as seeing its UK branches hit by the fall in tourism in the wake of the September 11 attack on New York, the company has felt the effects of the economic downturn in continental Europe, particularly in Germany.

The group, which had 56 branches on the continent as recently as the start of this year, announced in January it would close down 35 branches.

Laura Ashley's continental arm is now reduced to six stores in France, four of which are to close by November.

The 11 branches being sold had a combined turnover of £6.7m in the year to 25 January, running up pre-tax losses of £2.2m.

The company was set up by Merthyr Tydfil-born Laura Ashley and her husband in the 1950s, setting up factories in the heart of mid-Wales and by 1981 had 5,000 retail outlets throughout the world.

In 1984 her headquarters opened in Newtown, creating 500 jobs but a year later Mrs Ashley, then aged 60, died after falling down the stairs at her daughter's home in the Cotswolds.

The company, whose floral styles took the fashion and furnishing world by storm in the 1970s, fell out of favour in the 1990s.

The loss-making group was bailed out in 1998 by Malayan United Industries, which took a 40 per cent stake.