Sanderson Design Group Steps In to Revive Designers Guild After Its Collapse
British textile group Sanderson Design Group has signed a 10 year licensing deal to produce and distribute Designers Guild wallpapers, fabrics and paint, days after the beloved brand entered administration and halted operations.
British textile group Sanderson Design Group has agreed a 10 year licensing deal to take over production and distribution of Designers Guild wallpapers, fabrics and paint, as first reported by Business of Home. The deal follows a difficult week for Designers Guild, which entered administration, the UK's version of corporate bankruptcy protection, before halting operations and laying off its staff.
Under the agreement, Sanderson Design Group, whose stable of brands already includes Sanderson, Morris and Co and Zoffany, gains sole global rights to design, manufacture and sell products under the Designers Guild name. The licensing deal is struck with UK retailer Dunelm, which had bought the Designers Guild brand and its archive in 2025 before leasing it back to allow the label to keep operating independently.
Sanderson said it would move quickly to replenish best sellers and get an initial stock package onto its trade site, with Designers Guild products manufactured through its UK production network and sold through its existing distribution channels. Collaborations Designers Guild previously ran with labels including Christian Lacroix Maison, Ralph Lauren Home and John Derian are not part of the new agreement, though Sanderson says it is open to future conversations with those brands.
Sanderson chief executive Lisa Montague described the acquisition as a chance to protect a design institution. "Designers Guild is an absolutely iconic brand," she said, crediting founder Tricia Guild with pioneering an all-encompassing lifestyle approach to interior design.
Designers Guild was founded in 1970 when Tricia and Robin Guild acquired an importer of Indian block printed textiles, before growing it over five decades into a retailer covering fabrics, wallpapers, furniture and decor. Montague says the priority now is restocking the brand as quickly as possible while keeping its existing distribution partners in place. More on the company taking on the brand is available through Sanderson.
