Gray & Osbourn
Exited in 2006
Recognising that Gray & Osbourn was an under-leveraged brand providing a much needed clothing solution to a growing market of older, more affluent women who mourned the demise of boutique clothing stores, Piper led the management buyout of this catalogue business (formerly Selfridges Selection) which was sold as part of the break-up of Sears plc in 1998. Alongside Piper, the management team concentrated on range selection, catalogue design, database management and stock management, driving sales growth from £4m at point of investment to over £19m when the business was sold to N Brown Group PLC in 2006.
The real difference they made from my perspective was the support I got in growing me as an MD and in so doing supporting the growth of the whole business
The journey
| 1994 | Selfridges launches Sefridges Selection, its first mail order catalogue |
|---|---|
| 1998 | Piper leads the MBO from Sears and relaunches as Classic Selection |
| 2000 | Rebranding and launch as Gray & Osbourn |
| 2002 | Launch of website |
| 2006 | Sold to N Brown Group PLC |
Sale of Gray & Osbourn completed
[1 Jun 2006] - Piper has successfully disposed of its majority stake in Gray & Osbourn Limited with the £8.25 million sale of the business to a subsidiary of…
Current investments
