Austin Reed is set for a comeback seven months after the upmarket menswear chain collapsed into administration and was taken over by Edinburgh Woollen Mill.
The new owner plans to open 50 Austin Reed outlets over the next 18 months, following a period of strong sales growth and record profits at the 116-year-old tailor.
The first of the new shops will open at the end of next year, including a flagship shop in Central London.
Steve Simpson, commercial director of Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group, which also owns Peacocks and Jane Norman, said the addition of Austin Reed would help the company achieve its goal of continuing to deliver strong organic sales growth while also expanding its retail footprint across the UK.
“By remaining debt-free and with a strong balance sheet, we are always ready to take advantage of any further opportunities through acquisitions, as and when they may arise," he added.
The news came as Edinburgh Woollen Mill reported a 2.4pc rise in sales to £576.3m and a similar increase in underlying pre-tax profits to £90.9m in the year to February 2016. Like-for-like sales, which exclude acquisitions and disposals, were also higher.
Reported pre-tax profit, which includes exceptional charges, fell 15pc to £89.8m, which the group attributed to a change in accounting methods.
Edinburgh Woollen Mill plans to open 200 stores across its portfolio of brands over the next year and a half, generating more than 2,000 jobs. Last year, it opened 43 shops in the UK and Ireland, taking the total to 981.
The group bought Austin Reed out of administration in May this year. It kept just five of the retailer's nearly 100 high street stores.
Now, it plans to invest £100m in reviving the brand in the first three years of ownership. It has already launched Austin Reed online with a new autumn/winter collection.
It's a marked turnaround for the previously debt-laden retailer. Before its collapse, Austin Reed tried, unsuccessfully, to shore up its balance sheet and boost profits by shutting 31 shops. That included the sale of its flagship Regent Street Store in August 2015, where it had been based for 100 years.
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