On November 30, local time, the British clothing retail giant Arcadia Group announced that it had officially filed for bankruptcy protection and entered the administration stage. More than 13,000 employees of the group are facing an uncertain future. So far, the former clothing retail giant has become the UK’s most severely affected company by the COVID-19 epidemic.
It is reported that Deloitte will be responsible for the trusteeship after Arcadia Group files for bankruptcy protection. Deloitte said that they are currently working with the group’s management to evaluate all possibilities for its brands, and hope to find suitable buyers for Topshop, Burton and other brands.
The person in charge of Arcadia Group said that due to the impact of the new coronavirus epidemic, the group’s stores were forced to close for a long time, which seriously affected the sales of all brands. During the period under administration, the group’s management’s top priority was to protect jobs and maintain the group’s financial stability, hoping to escape the impact of the epidemic. It is understood that Arcadia Group has experienced a sharp decline in sales during the epidemic and has been unable to obtain additional funds to repay debts.
According to statistics, Arcadia Group currently has 444 stores in the UK and 22 stores overseas, as well as online businesses. Currently, 9,294 of the group’s 13,000 employees are on “forced leave.” Deloitte said there will be no immediate layoffs and they also plan to reopen some stores on Wednesday, December 2, after the second round of lockdown measures in England ends.
It is understood that in mid-2019, Arcadia Group was on the verge of bankruptcy. It finally got through it after obtaining multiple creditors’ agreement to support the restructuring plan proposed by the group’s management. Bankruptcy crisis. In addition, according to the latest data from data analysis and consulting company Global Data, Arcadia Group’s share of the British clothing market has dropped from 4.5% in 2015 to 2.7% currently. </p
