Earl plans revamp for Jaeger

FORMER Debenhams boss Belinda Earl has returned to the retail sector as the new chief executive of Jaeger, the upmarket fashion group owned by entrepreneur Harold Tillman.

Earl, who collected £3.6m when she left Debenhams last year, turned down a number of other job offers - including head of clothing at Marks & Spencer - in favour of the Jaeger role.

She said today: 'The business has a fantastic heritage, with 120 years of history. The potential is huge and I am looking forward to the challenge.'

At more than £100m a year, Jaeger sales are tiny compared to Debenhams' £1.5bn turnover. But Earl has big plans to revamp the brand and has also taken an equity stake in the firm. A stock market float 'is an option we will be considering', she said.

Tillman bought Jaeger just over a year ago for an undisclosed sum from entrepreneur Richard Thomson, who in turn had bought the business from Coats, the threads company.

Jaeger lost £12m in its final year as part of Coats but has since returned to the black. Tillman injected £10m into it and spent £25m buying a long lease on its flagship Regent Street store.