HOUSE of Fraser could disappear from the high street forever, the department store’s boss has warned.
Michael Murray, Frasers Group’ chief executive, has described House of Fraser as a “broken business”.
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Mr Murray said the group’s strategy was to break away from the traditional operating model of operating department stores.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Mr Murray said the House of Fraser is likely to “diminish.”
He said: “House of Fraser was a broken business when we bought it.
“We’ve completely changed the operating model. It was mostly concession, the stores were way too big, they were under-invested.
“Our future vision is that House of Fraser will diminish and Frasers will grow.
“We’ve just been obsessing over really building what Frasers should be and working towards that answer.”
Mr Murray said that the House of Fraser brand would in time be replaced with Frasers, which will sell the group’s own suite of brands.
Mr Murray explained that the new elevated Frasers would be highly flexible, with the capacity to phase out items that were not selling.
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This year, eight of the smaller format “Frasers” shops have been opened and more are planned.
Mr Ashley , who bought House of Fraser out of administration in 2018, is the company’s biggest shareholder but is not on the board.
Mr Murray, who is married to Mr Ashley’s daughter, told the Telegraph that the group’s strategy was to reduce the size of some department stores.
He said: “Most department stores could broadly take the same turnover out of half the space.”
Frasers Group has seen pre-tax profits almost double from £335.6million to £660.7million in the year to the end of April.
Its boost in profits came as the group — which now includes brands and businesses ranging from Agent Provocateur to Sofa.com, Gieves & Hawkes and Flannels — saw sales rise by 15.8 per cent to £5.6billion.
Mr Murray credited the success to the group’s breadth of brands and focus on a younger demographic who have taken less of a financial hit in recent years.
