Hours after the fall of UK fashion giant Arcadia, department store retailer Debenhams has announced that all stores will close.
Tough trading conditions, including the closure of non-essential fashion outlets during the coronavirus pandemic, tipped Topshop owner Arcadia into administration last night.
Arcadia was one of the biggest concession holders in department store chain Debenhams, which had already been in administration since April.
Debenhams had hoped that a late rescue bid might save the department store chain, with JD Sports lining up a potential offer. But the failure of Arcadia appears to have prompted the sports retailer to withdraw, meaning that all 124 of the chain's stores will now cease trading.
The 242-year-old retailer had already slashed jobs in the last six months, with 12,000 employees now set to lose their positions.
Arcadia exit
The collapse of Philip Green's Arcadia puts 13,000 jobs at risk, affecting 450 leased stores in the UK and 22 overseas.
Arcadia appointed administrators from Deloitte on Monday evening, in a bid to protect the group from creditors while a buyer is sought for the various parts of the business.
Its failure has been described as the UK's biggest corporate collapse during the pandemic to date. The company had already closed around 100 stores in the past two years after its parent company, Taveta, chalked up huge losses in 2018.
The group owns UK high street names including Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Evans and Burton. Their stores are currently slated to reopen on 2 December when the coronavirus lockdown is lifted in the UK.
Matt Smith of administrators Deloitte, said: 'It is our intention to continue to trade all of the brands, and we look forward to welcoming customers back into stores when many of them are allowed to reopen. We will be rapidly seeking expressions of interest and expect to identify one or more buyers to ensure the future success of the businesses.'
Arcadia turned down an eleventh-hour offer of a £50 mln (€56 mln) emergency loan from Mike Ashley's Frasers Group. Several fashion groups are said to be interested in Topshop, including Frasers, online retailer Boohoo, and even the likes of Marks & Spencers, who could leverage the brand to reach a younger audience.
