Peterborough clothing chain creates 30 jobs after snapping up Long Tall Sally

Andrew Killingsworth, founder and chief executive of Yours Clothing.

Yours Clothing boss Andrew Killingsworth has just bought the 44-year-old iconic retailer after it ran into difficulties three months ago due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The deal secures the future of Long Tall Sally, which caters specifically for women five feet, eight inches tall and above.

Mr Killingsworth, through AK Retail, has acquired the Long Tall Sally online business and its intellectual property.

It looks to be an ideal match for Yours Clothing, which sells plus-size fashion for women, and through its BadRhino brand, for men.

It is also a remarkable turnaround for the business, which employs about 1,200 staff in Bakewell Road, Orton Southgate, after suffering a £22 million loss in sales during the temporary closure of its stores during the Covid lockdown.

The acquisition will create up to 30 jobs at the Peterborough offices.

Mr Killingsworth said: “I’m delighted with the acquisition of Long Tall Sally (LTS).

“LTS has been in existence for 44 years serving ladies that are 5’8” and over and find the fit of regular sizes a challenge and I look forward to developing this proposition further.

“We will continue to trade LTS as an online proposition and at this moment in time do not anticipate any retail stores, but that could change as we start developing the brand from September.

“The acquisition will also create up to 30 additional jobs and opportunities at our Peterborough HQ across all functions as we look for talented people to help us develop the brand further.

He added: “I am very keen to speak to all LTS customers so they can tell me what was right and wrong, they play a big part in how we develop the brand and create an exciting new future, details of these communication methods will be announced soon.

“LTS is a global brand to be proud of and 50 per cent of its business comes from North America which is a great opportunity for us, we look forward to developing that side of the business further as well as really bringing it back home and giving the loyal and dedicated customers what they have been asking for.”

Under the terms of the deal the LTS online business and IP rights will be under new ownership of AK Retail Holdings from September 1.

AK Retail’s growing portfolio includes successful womenswear curve brand Yours Clothing, BadRhino, its menswear counterpart along with Bump It Up Maternity and Yours London.

AK Retail’s portfolio has experienced ongoing and recent success due to bringing on trend clothing to specialist markets with a focus on fit and quality at a competitive price.

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