Philip Day is the opposite of the brash entrepreneur, yet he’s quietly showing his retail rivals the way...Retail entrepreneur Philip Day is yet to become a household name but the owner of more than a dozen retail brands, including Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Peacocks, is quietly buying up swathes of the high street, with troubled electronics retailer Maplin the latest chain on his shopping list.
The emergence of EWM as a possible buyer of Maplin will surprise the retail sector, given its focus on high street clothing brands. Under Philip Day, EWM's owner and chief executive, the group has become one of the biggest employers on British high street, sweeping up brands including Austin Reed, Jaeger, Jane Norman and Peacocks.
