Monsoon Accessorize fall into administration as they announce 35 shop closures
10 June 2020, 11:40
Monsoon Accessorize have left 545 jobs at risk and 35 stores closing after going into administration this week.
Monsoon Accessorize are permanently closing 32 of their stores across the UK, and three in the Republic of Ireland, after it was announced they went into administration this week.
Founder Peter Simon bought Monsoon Accessorize out of the pre-pack administration almost immediately this week, however, there are still said to be 545 jobs losses.
This comes after the coronavirus pandemic, and lockdown measures, ruined the company's plans for a U-turn.
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It has been reported that the business wrote to their store landlords, saying that the shops would have to close if their rent was not waived amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The 35 stores closing include branches in Basildon, Lancaster, Lincoln, Maidstone and Camberley, among others.
Due to this, 545 staff members will be made redundant, while 450 jobs will be transferred to Adena Brand, which is also owned by Peter Simon.
Monsoon Accessorize have promised to push £15million into the brand in order to keep the remaining stores open.
The full list of stores not reopening are:
Basildon
Bexleyheath
Burton-on-Trent
Camberley
Canterbury
Carlisle
Chelmsford
Cork, Patrick Street A, Republic of Ireland
Cork, Patrick Street B, Republic of Ireland
Crawley
Derby
Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Hereford
Hitchin
Huddersfield
Kilkenny
Lancaster
Lincoln
Liverpool Airport
Maidenhead
Maidstone
Middlesbrough
Newark
Newtownabbey
Northampton
Southend
St Albans
Staines
Sutton Coldfield
Taunton
Telford
Trowbridge
Truro
Tunbridge Wells
York, Davygate
In a statement, Peter Simon said: "Ever since I opened the first Monsoon store in Beauchamp Place in 1973, this business has been my passion and my life, and I did not want to see it fall victim to this unprecedented crisis.
"Both Monsoon and Accessorize were trading well before the coronavirus pandemic but the business simply could not withstand the financial impact of having to close all its UK, franchise and joint venture stores for almost three months.
“This deal secures the future of both Monsoon and Accessorize and means we can continue to serve our customers online without a pause."
Tony Wright, joint administrator and partner at FRP, added: "We had to move quickly and decisively to secure the future of Monsoon and Accessorize, as many jobs as possible and the presence of these two iconic brands on the UK high street.
"After assessing a range of options this deal achieves those goals with least disruption to the business in an already challenging retail environment.
"We are now committed to working with Adena Brands as they enter talks with landlords to agree future terms across their store portfolio and look to transfer more jobs to the buyer.
"We'll also be working with the Redundancy Payments Service to support all affected employees through this difficult time."
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