Harvey Nichols bought by owner of Sports Direct

Dubbed “Harvey Nicks” by Edina and Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous, the two often found an excuse to nip into the department store for a spot of shopping and a long liquid lunch in the heyday of the 1990s.

But Catherine Shuttleworth, retail expert and boss of Savvy Marketing, said: “If you go into a Harvey Nicks store – and I did last week – they look terrible, they look really tired and basically they’ve suffered from a lack of investment.”

She told BBC Wake Up to Money that department stores “are cash-hungry monsters, they need investing, they need to look good and if you’re at the top of the luxury market that’s got to be constant”.

Harvey Nichols chief executive Julia Goddard said the deal marked “an important milestone” for the company and “provides a strong platform for the next phase of the business’s evolution”.

“Over the past year, we have made significant progress in repositioning this iconic business, investing in our flagship store, broadening our customer proposition, and strengthening the brand DNA,” she added.

As well as Sports Direct, Frasers has bought up a huge number of retailers and their brands over the years. These include upmarket fashion chain Flannels, Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes and luxury lingerie firm Agent Provocateur.

It also owns Jack Wills and House of Fraser.

Shuttleworth said Frasers’ boss Murray has “got his finger right on the pulse of how those [young] shoppers shop”.

“If you look at what the group have done with Flannels, [Harvey Nichols] is going to be more Flannel-esque than it is going to be Sports Direct-esque,” she said.

Fraser Group’s purchase of Harvey Nichols is part of its strategy to increase its presence in the luxury section.

It recently launched a takeover approach for German brand Hugo Boss, which it has a stake in already.