A number private equity companies are reportedly keen to take a stake in the venerable footwear retailer Clarks which is seeking new funds. Promiment amongst them are OpCapita, which previously owned the Comet electrical goods chain and US-based buyout firm Sycamore Partners. Any deal with the company is expected to generate around £100 million to £150 million to invest in the business that has survived for around two centuries so far, having been founded in 1825. If it’s to make it through a third century, still-new CEO Giorgio Presca wants to drive through major change, including the closure of unprofitable stores.
His ‘Made to Last’ strategy will include the loss of 900 jobs, although 200 news ones will be added. Suzanne McKenna, a former head of intimates brand Triumph, will join as the new managing director of Clarks next month. The firm recently reorganized itself via three business units, one of which is the Clarks operation. The others are Clarks Originals and Collection by Clarks/Cloudsteppers by Clarks.
The company has involved three accountancy firms in its restructuring plans, KPMG for advising the family shareholders, Deloitte to work with the management team and PwC taken on by a syndicate of its lenders.
