Jaeger looks to Europe as sales improve

Jaeger, the British heritage brand which was bought by Harold Tillman in 2003, has reported a 9% rise in sales in the 14 weeks to December 11, after strong performances from its London flagship stores in Regent Street and Westfield shopping centre in West London.

Jaeger is in talks to open a pop-up store in Paris, in what would be its first European store opening since it was bought by Tillman.

Tillman said that accessories and gifts had driven the strong performance during the 14 week period.

Sales during the year to February 23 rose 4% to £85.5m on pre-tax profits which fell by 55% to £1m as a result of a higher depreciation charge. EBITDA was flat at £6m.

Tillman told The Times: “We’re looking at a store currently in Paris and we’re tinkering with entry to Europe.”

Jaeger once had a large international business before it fell in to the red in the early noughties. It opened a store in Paris in 1963 and by the mid-80s it had 60 stores in the US until most of them were closed after faltering performance in the late 1990s.

Jaeger has 144 stores including concessions and a handful of franchise stores in Europe and a small number of concessions in Western Europe.