Global Recession & Retail Apocalypse News and Discussions

[Time_Traveller]

Empire Cinemas collapses into administration

59 minutes ago

Empire Cinemas has collapsed into administration with the immediate loss of 150 jobs.

Six cinemas in the chain have closed, with a further eight under threat.

Administrators BDO said the impact of the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis had "significantly affected the companies' business".

Last month rival chain Cineworld, also fell into administration, hit by the pandemic and competition from streaming.

The Empire cinemas that closed on Friday are in Bishop's Stortford, Catterick Garrison, Sunderland, Swindon, Walthamstow and Wigan.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66134084

[Time_Traveller]

Wilko to call in administrators putting 12,000 jobs at risk

Thu, 3 August 2023 at 12:37 pm BST

High street retailer Wilko has filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators, putting around 12,000 jobs at risk.

The company’s chief executive confirmed the move on Thursday.

The retailer has around 400 stores across the UK.

Wilko chief executive officer Mark Jackson said: “While we can confirm we’ve had a significant level of interest, including indicative offers that we believe would meet all our financial criteria to recapitalise the business, at present, we don’t today have an offer that provides the necessary liquidity in the time we have available, given the mounting cash pressures we’re faced with.

“Unfortunately, with this in mind, today we’re having to take the difficult decision to file a notice of intention.

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/wilko-call-ad ... 47247.html

[Time_Traveller]

Wilko: First job losses confirmed as deal to buy whole firm fails

18 minutes ago

Hundreds of staff at Wilko will lose their jobs at the collapsed chain over the coming days with more redundancies to follow, administrators have said.

The cuts come after a deal to buy the business fell through when the bidder failed to file paperwork in time.

Private equity firm M2 Capital said it made a £90m bid for Wilko but was unable to provide proof of funding.

PwC, which is overseeing Wilko's sale, said it was it was clear there was no viable offer to buy the whole business.

The discount chain, a stalwart of the High Street, fell into administration in August putting 12,500 jobs at risk across 400 shops.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66668569

[Time_Traveller]

New Body Shop owner call in administrators for UK chain

Saturday 10 February 2024 06:24, UK

The new owners of The Body Shop are lining up administrators for its British arm just weeks after taking control of the cosmetics retailer, in a move which could threaten significant numbers of shops and jobs.

Sky News has learnt that the company founded by Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon nearly half a century ago is preparing to appoint FRP Advisory to handle an insolvency process for its UK operation, which trades from around 200 stores.

City sources said on Friday that the administrators were ultimately likely to consider closing a significant chunk of The Body Shop's UK outlets, although they stressed that it was premature to speculate on specific numbers.

The Body Shop employs a large number of people in Britain, including at its head office in London.

The administration process for its UK operations will not impact the brand's global franchise partners, according to one insider.

https://news.sky.com/story/new-body-sho ... n-13067609

[Time_Traveller]

Yodel saved from collapse by fast-growing rival

2 hours ago

Parcel delivery firm Yodel has been saved from collapse in a last-minute rescue deal led by one of its rivals.

The business has been taken on by YDLGP, a newly-formed company backed by investment bank Solano Partners and the team behind logistics firm Shift.

Yodel makes about 190 million deliveries a year and it is thought the deal will safeguard thousands of jobs.

Its chief executive Mike Hancox said the move will "ensure continuity" for employees and customers too.

The firm was owned by the Barclay family and its clients include big brands such as Argos, Wren Kitchens, Gousto, second-hand clothes platform Vinted and the Very Group - also owned by the Barclay family.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68282487

[Time_Traveller]

New Body Shop owner call in administrators for UK chain

Saturday 10 February 2024 06:24, UK

The new owners of The Body Shop are lining up administrators for its British arm just weeks after taking control of the cosmetics retailer, in a move which could threaten significant numbers of shops and jobs.

Sky News has learnt that the company founded by Anita Roddick and her husband Gordon nearly half a century ago is preparing to appoint FRP Advisory to handle an insolvency process for its UK operation, which trades from around 200 stores.

City sources said on Friday that the administrators were ultimately likely to consider closing a significant chunk of The Body Shop's UK outlets, although they stressed that it was premature to speculate on specific numbers.

The Body Shop employs a large number of people in Britain, including at its head office in London.

The administration process for its UK operations will not impact the brand's global franchise partners, according to one insider.

https://news.sky.com/story/new-body-sho ... n-13067609

More on this: -

Fears grow for Body Shop stores in the Republic as some parts of European operations start to close

FRI, 16 FEB, 2024 - 13:40

Fears are mounting over the survival of The Body Shop in the Republic of Ireland as other parts of the retailer’s operations across parts of Europe started to be shut down on Friday.

The skincare chain’s German stores have been put into administration and staff in Belgium have been told that their jobs are not safe, according to reports.

The German and Belgian stores employ a total of 460 people.

A question mark has hung over the Irish operations for some time. There are 50 staff employed across seven stores in the Republic, but the future of the store in the North is not known at this stage.

A source at the retailer told the Irish Examiner that staff in the Republic will be given a notice period of two weeks and that the retailer will be closing all its stores and operations.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/ ... 33347.html

[caltrek]

Why Macy's is Closing 150 Department Stores
by Alina Selyukh
February 27, 2024

Introduction:

(NPR) Macy's, an anchor of so many shopping malls, plans to close 150 department stores in a bid to reinvigorate sales and shift its public image more toward luxury goods.

The company on Tuesday said it will shutter "underproductive" stores, while opening more of its better-performing, higher-end siblings: Bloomingdale's and beauty-focused Bluemercury. Macy's also plans to add smaller stores at outdoor shopping centers, which have been growing in sharp contrast to indoor malls.

All this is part of a do-or-die task for the quintessential American department store under a brand-new CEO. His plan, dubbed "A Bold New Chapter," appears to acknowledge that Macy's for years has been losing its traditional middle-class shopper — both to the yawning wealth gap dividing America and simply to other retailers, including brands that sell directly online.

In January, Macy's separately told employees it would shutter five stores and cut 2,350 jobs, around 3.5% of its workforce. This followed several other waves of closing stores and offices in recent years. The scale of layoffs from the newly announced retail closures is unclear. Once they are done, Macy's will have 350 locations — just over half of what it had before the pandemic.

At the same time, the company expects to open 15 new Bloomingdale's and 30 or more Bluemercury stores, in addition to remodeling another 30 Bluemercury locations. Spring told analysts he wants to add a dozen small-format Macy's stores this year to locations outside the traditional mall this year, which would double their count, with plans for more next year.

Read more here: https://www.npr.org/2024/02/27/1234165 ... s-closing