High street carnage continues as administrators appointed to fashion firm
Administrators have been called in at British fashion firm Calvetron Brands, which trades as Jacques Vert, Précis, Dash and Eastex, potentially putting around 1,000 jobs across the UK at risk.
The firm has more than 470 branches and outlets in the UK and Canada.
Calvetron employs around 1,000 people in the UK and about 400 in Canada and Ireland.
Peter Ridler, CEO, Calvetron Brands, said: “Everyone at Calvetron Brands has worked with energy and determination to achieve the turnaround that was needed; however, a combination of four brands that needed time and investment, against a backdrop of extremely difficult trading conditions on the high street, rising costs and low customer confidence has meant that we haven’t been able to achieve this within the timescales required.”
The business was originally founded in 1972 by Jack Cynamon and Alan Green, two tailors from the East End of London. In 1977 they created a range of coordinated fashion, combined their names and added a French twist, creating the Jacques Vert brand. The company expanded into a multi-branded fashion-retailing group in December 2002 with the acquisition of William Baird.
Jacques Vert merged with the Irisa group to become the Jacques Vert Group in 2012 and in June 2016 the company changed its name to Style Group Brands Limited (SGBL). In June 2017 SGBL went into administration and was sold via a pre-pack to CBL.
Benjamin Wiles, Philip Duffy and Trevor Birch of Duff & Phelps were appointed joint administrators today.
Wiles said: “CBL has been trading a number of well-known brands including Jacques Vert, Précis, Dash and Eastex and operating here in the UK as well as internationally in Canada, UAE and Ireland. Prior to the pre-pack sale it was trading in over 470 store concessions in the UK which, following the sale to CBL, was significantly reduced to its footprint today of around 300 store concessions. These stores include Debenhams, House of Fraser, and M&Co, as well as some independent store concessions. We are continuing to trade the company while reviewing the options to sell the business as a going concern. It employs a total of 1,408 people – 997 in the UK, 155 in Ireland and 256 in Canada.”
Duffy added: “Inflation and wage freezes have been major concerns for many fashion retailers and have been a driving force behind decreased spending. However, CBL has also been carrying a number of legacy issues dating back to the acquisition of the assets and business of SGBL resulting in a high cost base relative to its turnover. In the difficult retail environment we are facing today CBL simply could not restructure its cost base quickly enough or create the necessary economies of scale to succeed.”
It is the latest of several announcements of struggling retailers. Yesterday, House of Fraser announced store closures as part of a major restructure in a deal which will see the Chinese owner of Hamleys take a major stake. This follows a string of firms including Debenhams, New Look and bargain retailers such as Poundworld reporting problems.
High profile collapses have included Toys R Us, Bargain Booze owners Constellation and Maplins.
