What: Liberty goes full speed in private label deployment.

Why it is important: In their specific case, their private label is an internationally recognized brand.

Liberty is focusing on expanding its own-brand offerings, particularly in beauty products. This strategic shift aims to leverage the popularity and higher margins of Liberty's own products, such as its LBTY beauty brand, to drive business growth. Last year, LBTY introduced five luxury perfumes inspired by Liberty's renowned prints, with plans to expand into a full beauty line alongside its existing in-house categories like accessories, womenswear, and homeware.

The CEO noted the strong performance of Liberty’s own products, especially the new perfumes, which have seen high demand and international interest. This success aligns with a broader trend in department stores, where private label sales have significantly increased from 9% to 16% of turnover between 2019 and 2022.

Considering the strong demand for Liberty-branded products, Mehboob-Khan envisions opening new stores dedicated solely to Liberty products, marking the first such expansion since the last century. However, he acknowledged the challenge of replicating the unique charm of Liberty’s iconic Great Marlborough Street building, constructed in 1924.

Liberty’s strategy also includes a significant focus on beauty sales, a segment poised for growth even in a challenging luxury fashion market. The beauty sector, having shown resilience and pricing power even in high-inflation scenarios, is expected to continue expanding globally.

The Liberty group, encompassing its retail business, fabric division, and Liberty Brand, has reported a 23% increase in revenues to £185 million and a pre-tax profit of £712,000 for the year ending January 28, 2023, recovering from pandemic-induced losses.

Liberty bets on own-brand goods to drive growth