Barbara Fan
Admin
LV
12
- Messages
- 10,308
- Reaction score
- 23,432
- Awards
- 28
- Location
- Scotland
- Member Since
- 2000
- Favourite Movie
- Witness, Vertigo, Spellbound
When i was younger and my mum and i would stay with Aunts in N London, we would get the Northern line into Tottenham Court Rd and i would literally half run/half walk - heart beating and palms sweaty to get the the Flagship Store at Oxford Circus, I was a real Top Shop fan in the 80s and 90s;
Its sad whats happening to the ever dying out High Street in towns and cities - but i dont have too much sympathy for its owner
Sir Philip Green's retail empire Arcadia, which includes Topshop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins, is understood to be on the brink of collapse.
Sir Philip had been in talks with potential lenders about borrowing £30m to help the business through Christmas.
However, these talks have failed and administrators could be appointed on Monday, putting 13,000 jobs at risk.
Arcadia said it was working on "contingency options".
"As a result, the Arcadia boards have been working on a number of contingency options to secure the future of the group's brands," it said.
"The brands continue to trade and our stores will be opening again in England and the Republic of Ireland as soon as the government Covid-19 restrictions are lifted next week."
However, even before the pandemic, Arcadia's best-known names - like Topshop - were struggling against nimbler online-only fashion retailers like Asos, Boohoo and Pretty Little Thing.
And rival High Street chains like Zara have invested heavily in their digital business while Topshop has been slow to catch up.
In its most recent accounts for the year to 1 September 2018, Arcadia reported a £93.4m pre-tax loss compared with a £164.6m profit in the previous 12 months.
It also said sales fell 4.5% to £1.8bn.
image copyrightGetty Images
image captionSir Philip Green, model Kate Moss and Edward Enninful, now editor-in-chief of British Vogue, in 2017
Sir Philip Green - once known as the "King of the High Street" - is facing his biggest challenge yet.
With his Arcadia retail empire teetering on the brink of collapse, it is the latest saga in a colourful career that once saw him branded as the "unacceptable face of capitalism".
The retail tycoon's life story to date is rich in character and anecdote, from his failed attempts to take over M&S, to a lavish lifestyle that has attracted accusations of tax avoidance.
But questions now swirl over the fate of his empire.
Read more about Sir Philip's career here
Richard Lim, chief executive at Retail Economics, said that while all clothing shops had been adversely affected by the pandemic, Arcadia's "demise has been accelerated because of an online proposition that falls way behind that of their competitors".
"Years of underinvestment in the digital channel has severely restricted their ability to trade successfully through this hugely difficult period," he said.
"It would hollow out huge swathes of the High Street, if its huge footprint of stores were forced to close."
If administrators are called in, the shops will continue to trade as buyers for the company - or more likely its well-known brands - are lined up for sale.
Arcadia currently has about 500 shops.
There is some speculation that Boohoo could emerge as a buyer for some of the brand. This year it bought the online businesses of Oasis and Warehouse, adding to Karen Millen and Coast, which it acquired in 2019.
It has meant that other retailers with ties to Arcadia - such as department store chain Debenhams - are also struggling.
Its sad whats happening to the ever dying out High Street in towns and cities - but i dont have too much sympathy for its owner
Topshop owner Arcadia on brink of collapse
The company could make an announcement as soon as Monday - putting 13,000 jobs at risk.
www.bbc.co.uk
Sir Philip Green's retail empire Arcadia, which includes Topshop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins, is understood to be on the brink of collapse.
Sir Philip had been in talks with potential lenders about borrowing £30m to help the business through Christmas.
However, these talks have failed and administrators could be appointed on Monday, putting 13,000 jobs at risk.
Arcadia said it was working on "contingency options".
Is this because of the pandemic?
Arcadia admitted that the coronavirus had had "a material impact on trading across our businesses"."As a result, the Arcadia boards have been working on a number of contingency options to secure the future of the group's brands," it said.
"The brands continue to trade and our stores will be opening again in England and the Republic of Ireland as soon as the government Covid-19 restrictions are lifted next week."
However, even before the pandemic, Arcadia's best-known names - like Topshop - were struggling against nimbler online-only fashion retailers like Asos, Boohoo and Pretty Little Thing.
And rival High Street chains like Zara have invested heavily in their digital business while Topshop has been slow to catch up.
In its most recent accounts for the year to 1 September 2018, Arcadia reported a £93.4m pre-tax loss compared with a £164.6m profit in the previous 12 months.
It also said sales fell 4.5% to £1.8bn.
The 'king of the High Street's' biggest challenge
image captionSir Philip Green, model Kate Moss and Edward Enninful, now editor-in-chief of British Vogue, in 2017
Sir Philip Green - once known as the "King of the High Street" - is facing his biggest challenge yet.
With his Arcadia retail empire teetering on the brink of collapse, it is the latest saga in a colourful career that once saw him branded as the "unacceptable face of capitalism".
The retail tycoon's life story to date is rich in character and anecdote, from his failed attempts to take over M&S, to a lavish lifestyle that has attracted accusations of tax avoidance.
But questions now swirl over the fate of his empire.
Read more about Sir Philip's career here
Richard Lim, chief executive at Retail Economics, said that while all clothing shops had been adversely affected by the pandemic, Arcadia's "demise has been accelerated because of an online proposition that falls way behind that of their competitors".
"Years of underinvestment in the digital channel has severely restricted their ability to trade successfully through this hugely difficult period," he said.
What happens next?
"Arcadia would be the biggest British corporate collapse of the pandemic if it does enter voluntary liquidation," said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown."It would hollow out huge swathes of the High Street, if its huge footprint of stores were forced to close."
If administrators are called in, the shops will continue to trade as buyers for the company - or more likely its well-known brands - are lined up for sale.
Arcadia currently has about 500 shops.
There is some speculation that Boohoo could emerge as a buyer for some of the brand. This year it bought the online businesses of Oasis and Warehouse, adding to Karen Millen and Coast, which it acquired in 2019.
What about the rest of the High Street?
Non-essential retailers in England have been forced to close for four weeks until 2 December to contain the spread of Covid-19. This followed a longer lockdown earlier in the year.It has meant that other retailers with ties to Arcadia - such as department store chain Debenhams - are also struggling.
