Here’s another retail bigwig that’s going down!
The Philip Day-owned Edinburgh Woollen Mill, better known as EWM, has warned that several jobs could be in danger as it is on the verge of collapsing into administration.
The Group has announced that it intends to hire administrators in its efforts to restructure the organisation.
The restructuring programme could also mean selling some parts of the Group and if that happens, 24,000 retail jobs may get hit in some way or other.
For EWM, it’s been very challenging as most of its stores are located in the north of Britain where restrictions have been made stricter following recent increase in cases.
Also, EWM, which owns Peacocks and Jaeger apparel brands, generally has had older customers (mainly over 40) and according to industry experts any retailer that focuses on bringing older customers to its stores is almost always going to struggle.
The Group also, reportedly, said that it was worried over rumours about its business practices that have severely reduced its credit insurance and impacted its financial status.
As per recent reports, many garment suppliers in Bangladesh had accused EWM of not paying for their products. EWM has denied all the allegations.
The retailer had generated revenue of £88.7 million in 2019.
Also Read: EWM refutes claims of unpaid dues to B’desh suppliers, mulling legal action against BGMEA: Report
We will keep you updated on all latest developments.