Americana’s international roll-out gathers pace

AMERICANA, the North West fashion business, is powering ahead with its international expansion plans under the leadership of former Umbro boss Peter McGuigan.

The former footballer, who rescued the famous England football kit maker from collapse and then took it to the stock market as a profitable and growing business, was lured to Americana by its private equity owners HgCapital in late 2007.

Americana, based in Ardwick, Manchester, is the name behind the popular Bench and Hooch fashion brands. It has 10 retail stores and a thriving wholesale business in this country, but it is Europe where the focus is this year.

“Since I joined the group I have really driven the international side of the business – signing licensing deals with partners – in a similar way to what we did with Umbro.

“This year in Germany we’ll go from three stores to around 30 and we are opening our first store in Moscow this year. We are already in Greece, Holland and have three outlets in Poland.”

Turnover last year was around £100m and sales are growing steadily, Mr McGuigan said.

Americana employs around 11 people in Ardwick, 120 at its warehouse in Worsely, Salford, 20 in Germany and a handful at a showroom in London.

Mr McGuigan, who owns and chairs League Two football club Morecambe FC, says the move to Americana has given him a new lease of life.

“I said ‘no’ to HgCapital before I eventually accepted their offer. The brands are strong and the challenge is really exciting, we’ve a great few years ahead of us.”

After joining the business, he was joined by six former Umbro colleagues who have filled key roles.

Bench and Hooch, are stocked by fashion retailers such as USC and Republic and also in some major department stores such as House of Fraser.