A leading Scottish fashion and textiles retailer is set to open 100 new outlets as part of a major expansion drive.
The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group plans to create 800 new jobs in the current financial year with the opening of a further 53 stores.
That investment will then continue as the group progresses towards its target of 100 additional stores within two years.
EWM owns a number of retail brands including Peacocks, Jane Norman, Pro-Quip and Ponden Mill. In total, the group has more than 1,000 stores and employs in excess of 10,000 staff.
Since it bought Peacocks out of administration in 2012, it has invested more than £150 million into the brand.
Total sales for the group increased from £551.9m to £562.6m in the year to February 28, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) up 16% to £100.9m and pre-tax profits 28% ahead of the £71.3m return of 2014 at £91.2m.
The group said it was debt-free, had a strong balance sheet and was well positioned to take advantage of future opportunities within the retail sector.
“Edinburgh Woollen Mill was already a category leader in over-forties fashion, and further broadening its demographic will only help it to continue its growth, both here in the UK and overseas,” group commercial director Steve Simpson said.
“Peacocks, meanwhile, is benefiting from a truly omni-channel approach comprising online, mobile and high street, as well as out-of-town stores and concessions.
“While this has helped boost sales across both brands, control of sourcing and input prices has helped deliver strong margin growth.
“As well as opening more than 50 stores during the current year, we are now actively looking for new sites both here in the UK and overseas with a target of opening a further 100 new stores in the next two years.”
EWM was founded in 1946 as a yarn dyeing company in Dumfriesshire the company’s headquarters remain in Langholm and it only branched out into retail in 1970.