From M&S to own Clothing line

COLTRANE · (#1 (**permalink**))

Julia Finch
Thursday January 20, 2005
The Guardian

The former Marks & Spencer design supremo Yasmin Yusuf is to take control of the fashion chain East, it was announced yesterday.
Ms Yusuf has been named as the new chief executive of the 58-branch business, which is privately owned, and said she aimed to transform it into "a major international fashion brand".
She was creative director of M&S womenswear for three and a half years until last September, leaving with a golden handshake just before the arrival of Kate Bostock from Asda as the chain's new head of womenswear.
She developed and launched M&S's Limited Collection and reinvented the way M&S displays its merchandise, grouping clothes by compatibility rather than product category.
But her impact was limited and sales did not rebound. At the time of her departure Ms Yusuf said she was leaving to fulfill her ambition to start her own fashion label but yesterday she said: "I wanted to join a company with huge growth potential and where I could contribute to every area from the design handwriting to the shop fit-outs. East is perfect for me."
The chain, which stocks eastern-inspired fashions and targets women aged over 35, was established in 1994 by three former Monsoon staff, led by its chairman Clive Pettigrew. It has doubled its number of outlets in the past three years and had a turnover of £30m last year.
A spokesman said sales of the 2004 autumn/winter collections were 12% up year on year "in what everyone knows has been a tough climate". He said Ms Yusuf, who has been awarded a financial stake in the firm, had chosen East ahead of several bigger roles.