Marketing spend jumps to 50m as HoF rebrands

House of Fraser is doubling its marketing spend to 50m over the next three years as part of a major investment in the business.

HoF%20Oxford%20StreetHouse of Fraser is doubling its marketing spend to £50m over the next three years as part of a major investment in the business.

The department store group is revamping its branding and marketing as part of a company overhaul. It will include renaming 14 of its locally branded stores to House of Fraser although it will not include Jenners, the famous Edinburgh department store it acquired in 2005.

Matt Chambers, brand director and the department store group’s top marketer, says the move will help House of Fraser develop as a brand. It will also make more use of its store portfolio by improving window displays and point of purchase material.

The company is investing £180m across its 61 UK stores, which includes updating fixtures and fittings and adapting store formats to specific locations. Chambers says: “We’re going to have brand DNA throughout all our outlets, whether it’s in a store on the edge of town or in the city centre.”

The retailer is also launching a MasterCard credit card at the end of October with GE, its financial services partner. The credit card is in addition to its loyalty card, which has 1 million users. It has also recently invested £20m in its website, which now allows users to shop online.

House of Fraser has annual sales of more than £1.25bn, 6,500 staff and 10,000 concession staff working at its stores throughout the UK. The company is opening four new stores next year.