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As Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group marks the anniversary of the acquisition of value fashion chain Peacocks out of administration, chief executive Philip Day tells Retail Week how he is turning the business around.
What initiatives have you implemented at Peacocks since you took it over a year ago?
Philip Day: We've developed the products for the future. We have realigned the demographic with beautiful basics and we've added value, using the best raw materials. The customer has loved it and they have come back in volume.
We have reduced the fast fashion element and reduced markdowns by 50%, so the first price is the right price. We have solid price points now that are not changing every five minutes. The core price stays the same all the time and it has worked phenomenally well.We have concentrated on getting business built for the long term rather than the short term.
Are the improvements carrying through to the numbers?Margins are better. They've improved nine percentage points and we...