Rival bids for remnants of Arcadia fashion empire too late for Irish jobs

Trade union Mandate said it was told by the liquidators of Arcadia at Deloitte that there was no option but to shut the 14 shops in the Republic.

Fri, 29 Jan, 2021 - 16:08

Eamon Quinn

News of the shoot out for only the online remnants of the once-mighty Arcadia empire, which includes Topshop, Miss Selfridge, and Evans, has come far too late to save almost 500 jobs directly employed at the troubled retail group in Ireland.

British online retailer Boohoo said it was in the exclusive talks with the administrators of Arcadia in the UK acquisition of other parts of the Arcadia empire, including Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, and Burton.

Boohoo has its sights on the online operations only and the brick-and-mortar stores in Britain look highly uncertain.

Its bigger British online rival Asos earlier in the week said it was already in exclusive talks to buy other parts of Arcadia, including Topshop, Topman, and Miss Selfridge, but also has its eyes set on selling the brands online only, after fashion retailer Next pulled out of the process.

Boohoo two years ago bought the online business of Karen Millen and its move comes just days after agreeing to acquire the Debenhams department store brand.

The shoot out between the online rivals for different parts of the Arcadia group come far too late for almost 500 Irish jobs employed directly by the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge stores.

On Thursday, trade union Mandate said it had been told by the liquidators of Arcadia at Deloitte that there was no option but to shut the 14 shops in the Republic because of the extended Covid-19 lockdown.

'No hope'

"There is no element of hope for the Irish jobs," said Mandate national co-ordinator Jonathan Hogan, referring to the news on Friday that Boohoo had joined the bidding for parts of Arcadia.

The union has warned that many more jobs will go across Ireland because the Topshop brands were sold through concessionaires in many other outlets.

Lingering hopes for a buyer of the brick-and-mortar stores were extinguished after the two online retailers showed their hand, Mr Hogan said. Court-appointed liquidators were appointed to the Arcadia group in Ireland and administrators in Britain, in late November, to the struggling business. Boohoo said in a statement that the talks were ongoing and there was no certainty a deal would take place.

It completes a grim 12 months for retail in Ireland and Britain that will leave many more gaps across many town centres. Mr Hogan said that unlike in other industries that there was little to no new jobs to replace the employment lost at a number of large retail chains that shut during the Covid-19 crisis because the shift of sales online were to online warehouses in Britain.

Arcadia has faltered in recent years, dragged down by an expensive store portfolio and an online business that is less nimble than rivals. Founder Philip Green has also had a difficult few years after he was criticised for the sale and subsequent collapse of BHS department stores.

'Crisis mode'

Meanwhile, H&M said it will be difficult to make any profit this quarter due to lockdowns, leading the Swedish clothing retailer to increase discounts to clear out a longstanding inventory buildup. Sales plunged 23% so far this quarter after lockdowns forced the retailer to shutter more than a third of its stores, the owner of the H&M chain said on Friday. H&M is still in “crisis mode,” its chief executive Officer Helena Helmersson told analysts.

Whether the company makes a profit in the quarter depends on how revenue evolves, which is “pretty uncertain”. The CEO has slashed costs in her first year leading the retailer, which has been rockier than planned given the pandemic.

H&M cut 16,000 full-time job equivalents during the past fiscal year as she leads its biggest reduction in its store network ever. It plans net closures of 250 shops this year after 58 last year.

The first quarter, which runs through February, typically contributes less to full-year profit than other periods.