Liberty targets the high street with concessions

Liberty, the upmarket London department store, is to open concessions in other shops throughout the UK and abroad, selling its own label ready-to-wear women’s clothing range.

The move comes as part of a wider marketing push to rejuvenate the brand.

In addition to the shop-in-shop concessions, independent clothing retailers will stock the ready-to-wear range and Liberty is also looking to sell its gift lines and homeware products to other retailers.

Liberty marketing manager Stephen Jessey says: “We are getting behind the Liberty brand name and bringing it to wider audiences in the UK and internationally.

He explains: “Our plan is to move the brand out of Regent Street by way of our three major product areas – ladies ready-to-wear, homeware, and gifts – which we are actively marketing as Liberty merchandise and offering to third parties.”

Jessey says the company is in the process of finalising “some very substantive names” as stockists for the autumn 1999 women’s wear range but refuses to divulge names.

The brand relaunch will be handled by a new advertising agency. TBWA GGT Simons Palmer and J Walter Thompson have been shortlisted for the account.

Liberty has also launched a storecard through Creation Financial Services (formerly SearsCard) and plans to launch a mail-order catalogue.