Hong Kong retail billionaire Dickson Poon reportedly eyes sale of luxury chain Harvey Nichols

Poon, who has owned Harvey Nichols since the early 1990s, has hired FTI Consulting to review options for the struggling chain, including a potential sale or fresh investment, according to sources cited by Sky News.

The outlet also reported talks are underway with multiple interested international parties, though they remain at an early stage.

Established in 1831, Harvey Nichols, popularly known as Harvey Nicks, became synonymous with 1990s luxury after being prominently featured in the sitcom “Absolutely Fabulous.”

Poon’s Dickson Concepts International acquired the chain from Burton Group in 1991. He has been steadily stepping back from formal roles at the business in recent months, according to filings.

Harvey Nichols employs about 1,200 people in the UK and operates stores in London, Leeds, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Dublin, according to the Financial Times.

The group also runs the Oxo Tower Restaurant on London’s South Bank and has outlets across the Middle East and Asia. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 but was taken private by the Hong Kong tycoon six years later.

It has struggled financially in recent years, posting a fifth straight annual loss in 2024, its last reported financial year, as revenue fell 5% to £204 million (US$269.5 million) and pre-tax losses widened to £34 million.

The company was also recently hit with a winding-up petition over an unpaid debt from a company linked to the billionaire Rubin family. Though the bill has since been settled, the episode has raised concerns about the retailer’s financial health, according to The Telegraph.

Harvey Nichols has said no decisions have been made regarding the structure of any potential deal. It also declined to comment on market speculation, saying it remains focused on executing its transformation strategy, that the business has made strong progress and is seeing encouraging early signs of growth.

Poon’s flagship company is Dickson Concepts, which grew out of Dickson Watch & Jewellery, a watch brand he founded in 1980 with a single store. The company later expanded through franchising and licensing deals with other brands and went public in 1986, enabling it to acquire French luxury brand ST Dupont a year later, according to Tatler.

In the mid-1980s, Poon also entered Hong Kong’s film industry, where he met his second wife, actress Michelle Yeoh. The couple later divorced.

Poon retired as executive chairman and executive director of Dickson Concepts last October, per The Standard.