What every woman wants... a trinket from a retail tycoon

SHE made her fortune through a chain of stores selling cut-price clothing – but fashion tycoon Vera Weisfeld is now having a clearance sale of a very different kind.

The 81-year-old – who became one of Scotland’s richest women when she sold her What Every Woman Wants retail empire – is auctioning off items from her collection of art, ornaments and trinkets.

The multi-millionaire’s treasures will go under the hammer at McTear’s auctioneers in Glasgow this week – with items including a bronze bust of Robert Burns.

All proceeds will be donated to the Kilbryde Hospice in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire.

Mrs Weisfeld said: ‘These things are part of my life but I am 81 now and, while they have given me pleasure, I’ll get pleasure by giving them away.

‘These items have almost all been bought by me, whether at Harrods in London or art galleries in the south of France.

‘I have supported the hospice since the early days of it being established. It takes people from my home town of Coatbridge, so it’s rather personal. I struggled to let go of the bronze statuettes but this gives someone else the chance to enjoy a nice piece, while helping the charity.’

One of the bronzes, the statue of Burns, has a guide price of £500 to £800, while two bronze nudes by Italian artist Amedeo Fiorese are expected to fetch between £200 and £400 each. A silver-plated Christian Dior food warmer is due to fetch £70 to £100, a Gerard Burns oil painting £1,500 to £2,000 and a bronze ink stand £50 to £80.

A silver-plated seafood server in the shape of a crab has a guide price of £100 to £200.

Mrs Weisfeld and her husband Gerald founded their retail empire in the 1970s in Glasgow, specialising in affordable fashion. They sold up for £50 million in 1990.

Last night, Kilbryde Hospice chief executive Gordon McHugh said: ‘Mrs Weisfeld is a wonderful woman. When I saw the full list of items she was donating, it began to dawn on me just how much money could potentially be raised.

‘It costs £7,000 per day to run the hospice, so the final total could keep this place going for weeks.’

Brian Clements from McTear’s said: ‘The collection is hugely impressive. The sale will raise a significant amount.’