Andrew Marshall: brushing the dust off Links of London

Andrew Marshall: brushing the dust off Links of London Photo: PETER SEARLE

When I interviewed John Ayton, the then-chairman of Links of London, in June 2004 prior to the opening of the jewellery chain's Sloane Square store, he outlined plans to either float the business on the stock market the following year or sell a portion of it to an outside investor. He had big growth ambitions and wanted to take the business to the next level.

In the event, Mr Ayton ended up doing neither. In 2006 Links was sold to the Greek Folli Follie watches and fashion accessories group Hellenic Duty Free Shops in a £45m deal.

One year after that, former Gucci and Dunhill executive Andrew Marshall was appointed as chief executive of the chain. And then things went quiet.

The coupling of a London-based luxury goods chain with a Greek duty free operator always appeared odd. Ouzo and opals are unlikely bedfellows. But in his first interview since taking the job, Mr Marshall is eager to explain what he has been doing at the chain for the last two years.

It turns out that things have been going rather well at Links, which mainly sells ladies' jewellery but also sells watches, cufflinks and gifts.

Last year, sales at the chain increased to £62.2m from £45.8m the previous year. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation rose from £10.3m to £14.3m. Over the first quarter of the current financial year, sales rose by 44pc.

Mr Marshall outlines what he has been up to. He has opened stores in the UK and overseas (there are now 87 stores and concessions globally, up from 53 two years ago), sharpened up the retailer's focus and implemented "big business" disciplines to what he refers to as a "kitchen table" operation.

He is keen not to appear critical of the previous management (Mr Ayton and his wife Annoushka Ducas have moved on to new ventures), but he says that the chain had in many ways drifted into its comfort zone.

"They [the previous owners] took their eye off the ball and were focusing more on the sale. When I arrived I found a sleeping brand. The essence was there but it was a bit dormant and dusty," he said.

Mr Marshall took a long, hard look at what the brand stood for and concentrated on product development. Since Ms Ducas was the creative mind behind Links' products, Mr Marshall's immediate priority was to find a new designer.

This he did in the shape of Liz Galton, a jewellery designer who had graduated from the Royal College of Art and gone on to secure investment from the assorted entrepreneurs on the first series of the BBC's Dragons' Den. He also appointed a new finance director, promoted the head of retail to oversee European expansion and beefed-up the HR department.

Full article:- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/profiles/5851629/Andrew-Marshall-brushing-the-dust-off-Links-of-London.html