DEPUTY CHAIRMAN of Brown Thomas , Paul Kelly, has ruled out acquiring Arnotts, the Dublin department store taken over earlier this year by its lenders, Anglo Irish Bank and Ulster Bank.
In a wide-ranging interview with Business This Week, Mr Kelly said: “Brown Thomas has no intention of buying Arnotts. I don’t know how many times we have to say that to people. We’ve just bought a department store in Holland .”
Mr Kelly is also managing director of Selfridges Group Ltd, which is owned by Canadian multi-millionaire Galen Weston, and also has responsibility for Brown Thomas, Selfridges in the UK and Holt Renfrew in Canada.
Brown Thomas is debt free and was seen as a likely suitor for Arnotts.
“When you have the best store in the country you don’t want second prize. It’s a great location but we don’t need another Brown Thomas in Dublin.”
In August, Anglo and Ulster Bank got clearance from the European Commission to take joint ownership of Arnotts as part of a major debt-restructuring deal.
The banks are owed more than €300 million, with Anglo on the hook for 55 per cent of that total.
Former Brown Thomas executive Nigel Blow is running Arnotts on behalf of the banks.
Mr Kelly said Arnotts “had a long history of great business” but suggested it had lost its way trying to develop the Northern Quarter concept. “I see myself as a shopkeeper not as a property developer. It’s owned by a bank that’s bust. I don’t know what’s going to happen to the bank. It would be my worst nightmare to have a business that’s owned by a bank who knows nothing about retailing.”
Meanwhile, French shoe designer Christian Louboutin will open a boutique in Brown Thomas in February. The label has become recognisable around the world for its distinctive red sole.
