Arcadia to permanently close 31 more stores, cut 714 jobs

Administrators of Arcadia are reportedly set to permanently close 31 of the group’s stores by the end of January, resulting in some 714 redundancies.

The closing stores include the entire 21-strong store estate of Arcadia’s Outfit brand, The Times reports.

Arcadia called in administrators from Deloitte at the end of November after its sales took a big hit from months-long lockdowns, putting some 13,000 jobs at risk. The high street giant had around 444 UK stores at the time.

Since then, administrators have been looking to sell off the businesses’ assets.

All Outfit stores to close for good

The deadline for bids for the group’s flagship brand Topshop ended on Monday, with Next, Boohoo and Frasers Group thought to be among the frontrunners.

Earlier this week there were reports that UK sportswear retailer JD Sports and Authentic Brands, the US owner of Forever 21 and iconic department store chain Barneys, could team up to make a joint bid for Topshop.

In January, Arcadia’s administrators sold the Evans brand, e-commerce and wholesale business to rival City Chic Collective Limited for a cash consideration of approximately 23 million pounds.

Arcadia, which also owns brands Burton and Dorothy Perkins, has been struggling over the past few years to compete with new online competitors - a problem that was further compounded this year by the pandemic.

Photo credit: FashionUnited