130-year-old fancy dress business sold off after being hard hit by pandemic

Leeds-headquartered fancy dress retailer RH Smith & Sons (Wigmakers) Ltd – known as Smiffy’s – has been sold to holding company Ad Populum after falling into administration.

Smiffy’s has been operating for well over 100 years. Along with its headquarters in Leeds it has stores in Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and Oxford.

The financial performance of the company was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic which saw a huge drop in demand for costume and party products.

The buyer owns several brands, such as NECA (an industry leader in pop culture action figures and collectibles), Wizkids (a producer of miniatures and award-winning tabletop games worldwide), Kidrobot (a premier creator of limited-edition art toys and lifestyle accessories), and Rubies II, LLC (a US costumes company).

Jane Steer and Sarah O’Toole of PwC were appointed as joint administrators of Smiffy’s.

Steer said: “Smiffy’s is a popular brand that has been operating in one form or another since 1894, but sadly, like many other retailers, it was impacted by the after effects of the pandemic.

“The buyers, Ad Populum, will add Smiffy’s to their comprehensive range of brands which includes extensive experience of the fancy dress and toy markets.”