Company Profile
High Street
192 mainstream high street stores selling Ladies and Menswear for the 45+ customer. The outlets, which all trade under the Edinburgh Woollen Mill fascia are located in a wide variety of market and provincial towns, 70% of which are located south of Birmingham.
Tourist Shops & Visitor Centres
94 Speciality tourist stores whose product mix is heavily dominated by gifts and themed products according to the stores location. The outlets, which trade under an individual, often local, fascia, are in key tourist locations throughout the UK with a considerable presence in Scotland (60 per cent).
Many stores are on busy tourist routes and benefit from itineried coach visits where Food Service and exhibitions are all part of the attraction.
Destination Shopping
28 destination sites either out of, or on the edge of town. They are considerably larger sites containing all of the Group's concepts as well as other retail brands to increase the attractiveness of the site as a retail destination. These sites trade under local, individual fascias such as Antartex Village, Masson Mill, Kernow Mill, Mackinnon Mills and as anchor tenants in sites of larger developments as is the case at Wilton Shopping Village.
A key facet of the Group's success to date is it's knowledge of, and core competency within the over 60's market, an area which has historically been poorly served by many retailers. However, with the continuing ageing of the UK population, the Group has now started to present its product to the 45 - 60 year old market (the fastest growing UK age group). By targeting the 60+ sector of the population in the past, the Group has been able to build up a leading foothold in its retail offering to this type of customer and hence is well placed to benefit from the forecast growth in this slightly younger sector of the retail market.
Through constant liaison with suppliers and with the Group's associate manufacturing companies. The Edinburgh Woollen Mill is closely involved with every aspect of the development cycle of a natural woollen product from processing of the raw material, through production of yarn and cloth to the design and manufacture of the garment, and finally to the sale in the shop to the customer. By maintaining total control in this way, The Edinburgh Woollen Mill has built up a good reputation for providing the finest quality merchandise at the best possible value.
