British apparel and home furnishings company Laura Ashley Holdings plc for the first time in four years has showed a profit at the end of its financial year. While turnover in the year ended January 27, 2001 amounted to GBP 259.1m (EUR 415.7m) pre-tax profit was GBP 10.2m (EUR 16.3m) compared to a loss of GBP 4.1m (EUR 6.5m) in the previous year.
Laura Ashley now plans to expand in Europe, focusing mainly on Germany, where the company presently operates 17 Laura Ashley stores. Another six German stores are planned to open in the near future. Of Laura Ashley’s total 255 own stores, 191 are in the UK, and 64 in continental Europe. Turnover for European business declined by 2 % to GBP 37.7m (EUR 60.4m).
