Apax, Permira-backed New Look eyes China expansion
UK fashion retailer New Look, which is backed by Apax Partners and Permira, is looking to expand into China.
New Look CEO Ander Kristiansen told the Financial Times that the group plans to have its first store in China in early spring next year and is targeting 5-10 outlets in total.
Kristiansen joined New Look in January from Danish fashion group, Bestseller. He spent 10 years in China overseeing the group's network of 6,000 stores in the country. New Look looked into entering China witha joint venture partner last year but it came to nothing. This time the firm will go it alone.
New Look will send a team to China to seek out locations in tier-one cities including Beijing and Shanghai. It is also mulling a move into India, although with a joint venture partner.
The news comes as the company prepares to refinance GBP1 billion ($1.5 billion) of debt. Apax and Permira acquired New Look in a GBP699 million take-private deal in 2004, refinancing it in 2005 and 2006
The private equity backers had planned to sell the company in mid-2007 but struggled to find appetite for the GBP1.8 billion asking price.
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