Yahoo Finance Simply Be and High & Mighty owner to close all 20 UK stores
The online fashion retailer N Brown plans to close all 20 of its high street stores in the UK, which trade under the names High & Mighty, Jacamo and Simply Be, with the loss of 270 jobs.
It is the latest retailer to shut stores amid difficult conditions on the high street and a long-term shift to online shopping.
A spokesman for N Brown said the tough retail climate accelerated the decision, but added the move was part of the firm’s strategy to become a purely online retailer.
The shops, which are dotted around the UK, from London to Belfast and Glasgow, contributed £15m, or 2% sales, last year and made a loss of £3m.
About 240 people working in the shops are at risk of redundancy, along with 15 head office staff in Manchester and 35 working at the Duke Mill warehouse in Shaw.
The news came as N Brown posted 0.4% growth in revenues for the 13 weeks to 2 June.
Angela Spindler, the chief executive, said: “This was a challenging period for fashion retail. In line with our online strategy, and given continued weak high street footfall, we have today commenced a consultation process with colleagues over the future of our small-store estate. This action has not been taken lightly.”
Michelle Byrne, area organiser of the shop workers’ union Usdaw, said the move was a “real shock for staff”. She said the union would “interrogate the business case for the proposed store closures” during the consultation. “Our priority is to save jobs,” she said.
N Brown expects the consultation to end by October and said if all 20 stores were closed, there would be a one-off cost of £18m to £22m covering redundancy payments and other costs.
Targeting younger shoppers, Jacamo for men and Simply Be for women are among N Brown’s main brands. JD Williams, its biggest brand, caters for over-45s.
Sofie Willmott, a senior retail analyst at GobalData, said: “JD Williams is well placed to benefit from clothing spend shifting online as mid-market retailers such as Marks & Spencer and Debenhams close stores and consumers look to digital channels for choice and convenience.”
