YORK-based fashion retailer Sarah Coggles has won the franchise to manage a string of designer stores throughout the country, with the first opening in York.

Owner Victoria Bage has been asked to run stores stocking Paul Smith clothes for men, with the first shop based in Low Petergate, close to the existing Sarah Coggles.

Paul Smith is one of the top menswear designers with stores in New York, Paris and London. He recently opened a shop at the McArthur Glen outlet near York.

She has also announced a major development of French Connection in Coney Street, which she already manages the franchise of, tripling it in size to 3,500 square feet and moving to Davygate in August.

And a Sarah Coggles store opened this week in the prestigious Bluewater shopping centre, near London.

The changes mean an extra 16 jobs in York alone, 12 of which will be in the Paul Smith store, also set to open in August.

Expansions to the nationwide Sarah Coggles and French Connection chains are also planned. Numbers of the stores have yet to be announced.

The news follows the Sarah Coggles chain being crowned Retailer of the Year at fashion awards in London this week.

It is a huge success story for a woman who began to sell dresses on a market stall in York 25 years ago. It was called the Sarah Coggles Frock Shop.

Mrs Bage said: "Paul Smith is a very big name and it's great news that we have been given the franchise for it.

"Basically they approached us. The French Connection franchise has been extremely successful, and Paul Smith have asked us to do the same for them."

Mrs Bage opened her first French Connection franchise in York three years ago and it quickly grew.

She said: "The Coney Street store is just too small now and it needs to move to one which is much bigger. It has been very successful."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.