Dorma to be re-named
Ardwick bedding manufacturer Dorma is to be re-named Dawson Home Group in order to focus the business on the bedding it makes for companies including John Lewis and Marks & Spencer.
It follows the £5m sale of the Dorma trademark by Scottish group AIM-listed Dawson International to Leicester-based Dunelm in July.
The sale will lead to about 400 job losses at concessions in department stores around the UK, mainly at House of Fraser and Debenhams. All 120 concessions will be shut by 2011.
Jobs are also expected to be lost at the Ardwick site, but the company has not said how many of the 50-person team responsible for the design, distribution and marketing of Dorma-branded products will go.
Dawson will continue to supply Dunelm with Dorma-brand and own-brand bed linen for an initial period of four years, as well as continuing to use the Dorma brand under licence until January 2011.
Dawson, based in Kinross, released its first-half results on Wednesday. Group turnover rose from £40.1m to £41.7m despite a difficult trading environment. Pre-tax losses fell from £2.1m to £1.64m.
It said the sale of the Dorma trademark will improve the group’s future profitability.
