British retailer Marks & Spencer sold New York-based cataloger/retailer Brooks Brothers on Nov. 23 to Retail Brand Alliance. Enfield, CT-based Retail Brand Alliance, which owns the Petite Sophisticate and Casual Corner women’s apparel retail chains,paid $225 million for Brooks Brothers. When it bought the men’s and women’s apparel marketer in 1987, Marks & Spencer had paid $750 million. Marks & Spencer put Brooks Brothers on the market this summer, in order to focus on its struggling core business.
According to a Reuters article, Retail Brand Alliance’s chief operating officer, Mark Shulman, is considering expanding the company’s product line of traditional businesswear to target buyers in their 20s. Shulman also said he would consider adding a children’s apparel line.