Laura Ashley eyes China, India

British lifestyle retailer Laura Ashley plans to enter China and India.

Laura Ashley is in talks with potential franchisees to open shops in China and India within 12 months.

“We keep on talking to various partners, hopefully within the next 12 months we should have something in place in India and China,” CFO Sean Anglim told RetailWeek.

The company, owned by Malaysian conglomerate MUI Group, currently has 296 franchised stores around the world with a strong presence in Japan and Australia.

The China and India plan comes on the heels of a strong first half financial performance, reporting nearly 15 per cent pre-tax profit growth to 8.5 million pounds ($13.9 million).

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