Bonmarche collapses again as retail bloodbath escalates

Bonmarche has collapsed into administration for the second time in just over a year, putting far more than one,500 work less than menace.

Directors RSM explained all 225 stores will remain open and there would be no redundancies however as it sought to strike a rescue offer.

The low cost apparel chain fell into administration in Oct 2019 before administrators agreed a rescue offer with retailer Peacocks. That meant 30 stores closed just prior to Xmas past year, influencing hundreds of work.

Damian Webb of RSM explained: “Bonmarche remains an beautiful model with a faithful buyer base. It is our intention to continue to trade even though doing the job carefully with administration to investigate the solutions for the business enterprise.

“We will shortly be advertising the business enterprise for sale, and based mostly on the curiosity to day we foresee there will be a range of fascinated events.”

Bonmarche’s demise marks the most up-to-date amid a retail bloodbath sparked off by the pandemic.

About 25,000 work are at danger following Sir Philip Green’s Topshop empire Arcadia known as in administrators on Monday and Debenhams starting a liquidation approach on Tuesday following JD Athletics pulled out of a doable rescue.

Bonmarche has experienced a chequered background even prior to the coronavirus disaster.

The team has been hit challenging by growing expenses as business enterprise charges soared and the minimal wage was raised, which has put together with a shift in direction of on the web searching.

Past year’s administration arrived following a sequence of financial gain warnings from the team.

It experienced also hit the wall with sister enterprise Peacocks in 2012, prior to the pair were acquired by non-public equity agency Sunshine European Associates.

Bonmarche was then floated on the London Inventory Trade the adhering to year right up until retail tycoon Philip Day finished his takeover of the battling retailer previously in 2020.