Cath Kidston as a business has seen many changes over the years, such as a new chief executive, new print designs, new collaborations, and global expansions. On Monday a new batch of products inspired by JK Rowling's boy wizard hit store shelves and online in the firm's second Harry Potter x Cath Kidston collab with bags, clothing, tea towels, kitchenware and more all available. Retailers that are very brand led have the additional overhead of in-house design and development teams – whilst in good times this gives the brand its distinguishing USP, in tough times the costs associated with maintaining these teams present additional financial pressures,” she explained. A new collection of upholstered beds, sofas, accent chairs, chaise longues and footstools in striking patterned fabrics, designed to bring joy to any room in the home

Kidston received an MBE for her services to business. She sold a majority stake of the company to US private equity investors TA Associates, retaining a minority stake and remaining as the company’s creative director. I’ve had that thought process from day one whilst at Cath Kidston. Print is at the core of the business.” Cath Kidston, launched in west London in 1993, is known for its prints. Marler told Retail Gazette that while Cath Kidston’s prints is instantly recognisable and world-famous, the print has to be authentic. After all, the iconic English retailer – launched by Cath Kidston herself in west London in 1993 – was known for using vintage fabric before designing her own unique prints.

Whilst the iconic prints have been loved by many, the bright, bold and almost child-like designs have the potential to alienate a large majority of consumers,” she said.

Ideal Home Range IZIPIZI Jellycat Soft Toys Jomafe Joules Judge Kilner Kitchen Aid Kitchen Craft L'Occitane Laura Ashley LEGO Fully recyclable print fabrics are Summer Birds, Endless Love Blue and Pink, Painted Kingdom, Patchwork and Love Letter. Calder, it turns out, is a longstanding favourite with Kidston. “I’d love to have a Calder mobile if I could. When I was 18 or 19 I went to Venice and was completely bowled over by the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, which introduced me to artists like Calder and that modernist age. The contrast of her gallery with the rest of Venice is an amazing thing.”Nonetheless. the reopening of the London flagship after nine months of closure marked the second stage of Cath Kidston’s transformation plans. The first was to improve its digital presence. The retailer closed all of its 60 UK stores in April, after administrators failed to find a buyer, and has been restructured to operate as a digital-first retailer, with e-commerce now accounting for 85 percent of its sales. Collaborations are integral to our overall growth strategy in terms of innovating the brand, keeping it fresh, attracting new customers, as I said we do have a very loyal fan base, but naturally we want to keep that fan base growing and attract new and young customers,” she said. Cath Kidston reopened its London flagship store in early December.

Laura Morroll, senior manager at management and technology consultancy BearingPoint, said store closures have resulted in a significant drop off in sales. Although some customers may have been successfully diverted to shopping online, the cost of online channel fulfilment significantly outweighs that of stores, eating away at profits. The whole effect of the print wall could be an illustration of Lucian Freud’s dictum that in the end nothing goes with anything, “it’s your taste that puts things together”. In this case, of course, the taste is Kidston’s: the same eye and sensibility that directed the hugely successful business that bears her name. My role in this transformation plan is to ensure everything is cohesive and curated within the brand’s vision,” Marler told Retail Gazette. Cath Kidston chief executive Kenny Wilson left the to join Dr Martens. Melinda Paraie was as the new chief executive. Chief financial officer Neil Harrington also exited.Its products were also commonly sold in department stores, which themselves have been struggling in recent times. Around the same time she joined, Cath Kidston announced a transformation plan with a core focus on digital acceleration and global growth. Under the new model, ecommerce accounts for 85 per cent of the business. This meant the closure of all of its UK stores, and a re-alignment of its cost base and structure “to create an economically viable operating model as a brand-led, digital first retailer”. That sense of old juxtaposed with new is evidently something she enjoys. Another quality Kidston emphasises is visual punch: “clean, strong pieces of art work”, which is why she is drawn to printmaking media. “What I like about prints is that there’s often a crispness. The older I get the more I appreciate more graphic things. That’s where it’s coming from. I am a floral person, but I like very graphic flowers.”