15,000 UK jobs in peril as retailer Arcadia weighs future
Posted Nov 27, 2020 4:53 am.
Last Updated Nov 27, 2020 5:00 am.
LONDON — Another 15,000 retailing jobs in Britain are in peril after Arcadia Group, which owns chains like Topshop, said it is working on “contingency options to secure the future of the group’s brands.”
Amid mounting speculation that the sprawling retail empire of Philip Green is set to collapse into a form of bankruptcy protection, the group said the forced “closure of our stores for sustained periods as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a material impact on trading across our businesses.”
Arcadia owns some of the country’s best known fashion brands, which besides Topshop include Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins.
The group said in a statement it has “been working on a number of contingency options to secure the future of the group’s brands.”
It stressed, however, that its brands “continue to trade” and that its stores will be opening again in England as soon as coronavirus restrictions are lifted next week.
England is in the midst of a four-week lockdown that has forced the closure of all shops selling items deemed to be non-essential. The lockdown expires on Dec. 2 and shops will be allowed to reopen.
The Associated Press
