Job losses and store closures at Yorkshire retail chain

A YORKSHIRE clothing firm, which doubled in size 18 months ago following a deal to buy a Scottish retail chain, has gone into administration following a period of poor trading.

Leeds-based 2nd Thoughts, which trades as the Ellie Louise and Happit chains of clothing stores in England and Scotland, has also been hit by increased competition from discount retailers.

Twenty-nine stores have been closed and 140 redundancies have been made at the stores and at the group’s Yorkshire head office. 

Value fashion retailer Ellie Louise expanded to more than 90 stores after the acquisition of family-owned Dunfermeline-based Happit in June 2008.
  
Selling mostly budget ladies wear, the company has its headquarters and a warehouse in Garforth near Leeds and was established more than 30 years ago by Mick Broughton. 

The family business began life as a stall on a Seacroft market and was subsequently run by sons, Gary and Kevin.

Following the deal with Happit, the group grew to boast 82 stores nationwide, including 12 in Yorkshire, and had annual turnover of £14 m a year.

Bob Maxwell and Edward Klempka, of business rescue, recovery, and restructuring specialist Begbies Traynor, have been appointed joint administrators to the company.

Mr Maxwell said despite the job losses, 53 stores would remain open and the administrators were seeking a sale of the business as a going concern in order to safeguard the remaining 270 jobs.

In Yorkshire, the group’s Pudsey and Shipley stores have closed which, together with redundancies at the Leeds head office, account for 24 job losses in the region.

In Scotland, 14 stores have closed resulting in 60 job losses.