Harvey Nichols bought by Sports Direct owner

JUST IN: Harvey Nichols, the luxury department store founded in 1831, has been bought by Sports Direct owner Frasers Group, securing more than 1,000 jobs after it appointed an administrator in June.

Harvey Nichols now belongs to the man behind Sports Direct.

Mike Ashley's Frasers Group is buying the whole thing, all six stores, the Knightsbridge flagship, the online business and the international franchise. Over a thousand jobs saved. And this one was close to the wire. Harvey Nichols went into administration in June, and just this week it warned it would have to cease trading within a year without new money. There it is, sale signs already in the window.

So the store that dressed Patsy and Edina in Absolutely Fabulous, founded in 1831, carrying more than 800 luxury brands, is now stablemates with trainers piled high in a Sports Direct. Frasers boss Michael Murray isn't sugarcoating it either. He says the turnaround needs tough choices, even if that means a smaller business for a while.

A 195 year old luxury name just got rescued by the king of the bargain bin. Retail is a strange country now.

This is Angel Manalo, reporting for HIT.

Source Read the original reporting at bbc.co.uk