Arcadia, the group behind Topshop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins, is set to close another 31 shops after falling into administration. The stores, including 21 Outfit shops, will not reopen once lockdown is lifted, resulting in 700 job cuts.
Deloitte, appointed to run Arcadia group, are seeking buyers for some or all of group stores. Arcadia had about 444 UK stores when it went into administration, putting about 13,000 jobs at risk. The retail giant, which also owns Miss Selfridge and Wallis, saw sales slump during the Coronavirus amid temporary store closures.
Despite that, experts expect the group to be broken up, with bidders taking different parts of the business, and brands potentially hived off. The deadline for bids passed recently, with retail chains such as Next and Frasers Group reportedly in the running to buy some parts of the group out of administration.
The Outfit chain is made up largely of out-of-town shops selling a mix of products from the group's other brands under one roof, so may not have drawn interest from bidders. Although some bidders including Australian collective City Chic and Next have shown interest, they prefer to buy only a fragment of the brand resulting in more losses and job cuts.
Arcadia was once a darling of the High Street, but long before coronavirus, Sir Philip's brands were struggling against newer, online-only fashion retailers. Boohoo, for example, has also been reported as having an interest in acquiring Arcadia brands.
In 2020, it bought the online businesses of Oasis and Warehouse, adding to Karen Millen and Coast, which it acquired in 2019.
