Lorna Jane Clarkson
| Lorna Jane Clarkson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
23 November 1964 Lancashire, England |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Fashion designer, entrepreneur, author |
| Spouse(s) | Bill Clarkson |
Lorna Jane Clarkson (née Smith, born 23 November 1964) is an Australian fashion designer, entrepreneur and author. She is the creator of the Lorna Jane brand of activewear for women, and owner of a chain of retail outlets that market the clothes. The major stores ("Active Living Rooms") incorporate fitness studios ("Move Studios") and health food cafés ("Nourish Cafes").
By 2015, the chain included 146 stores in Australia, 42 in the United States, and 54 stockists in other countries including South Africa, Britain, Canada, and Dubai.
In March 2013 and again in March 2014, Clarkson was included in the BRW "Rich Women" list of the thirty wealthiest Australian women who had not inherited their money. Her fortune was reported at $40 million in 2013 and $50 million in 2014
Clarkson and her husband, Bill, retain a 60% stake in the Lorna Jane brand, after private equity firm CHAMP Ventures purchased a 40% stake in 2010. In 2016, the overall value of the business was estimated at $500 million, with an annual revenue for 2014 estimated at $200 million.
Clarkson won numerous RAQ Fashion Design Awards, and the Outstanding Retailer of the Year award at the BRW and AMP Capital Shopping Centres Australian Retailer of the Year Awards 2011. In 2013, she was inducted into the HerBusiness Businesswomen's Hall of Fame.
She has published four books on health and wellbeing: Move, Nourish, Believe: The Fit Woman's Secret Revealed (2011), MORE of the Fit Woman's Secrets (2013), NOURISH - The Fit Woman's Cookbook (2014), and INSPIRED (2015).
After establishing the Lorna Jane business, Clarkson studied fashion at TAFE college and was awarded a Diploma of Fashion. She later said that, in hindsight, earning this qualification was unnecessary because of the practical experience she had already gained.
Clarkson was born Lorna Jane Smith in a small town in Lancashire, England, the younger of two sisters. Her mother, Jean Hale, a secretary, raised the girls as a single parent. The family emigrated to Brisbane, Australia, when Lorna was ten years old. As a child, she learned ballet, played netball, and was a school cheerleader. She attended Springwood State High School, and as a teenager, worked at Mathers shoe store in Woodridge Plaza. She wanted to become a journalist after high school, but was discouraged by her mother, so became a dental technician instead. While studying dental therapy, Smith began teaching aerobics at night.
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