New Look suffers £522m pre-tax losses as it closes stores to cut debts

2018 saw one of the worst years for the UK High Street with retailers shutting their doors and plaguing homes across the country with many job losses.

And 2019 is heading in a similar direction with Debenhams and L.K. Bennett falling into administration.

Crisis hit brands such as House of Fraser and Marks & Spencer have been fighting to keep stores open while other retailers such as New Look pushed for a solution to stop store closures and job losses.

In 2018 nearly 85,000 retail jobs were lost in the UK as businesses continued to go bust as 1,000 retail business went into administration between January and September. 

As well as this the number of retail outlets left empty was up by 4,400 in 2018 according to data from the Local Data Company.

House of Fraser (pictured above) is one of the crisis hit brands on the UK High Street

Marks & Spencer has been battling with the UK High Street and had previously struck a deal with Ocado to transform grocery shopping

Marks & Spencer has been battling with the UK High Street and had previously struck a deal with Ocado to transform grocery shopping

Last year New Look announced it would be closing 85 stores across the UK

Last year New Look announced it would be closing 85 stores across the UK 

High Street giant Gap has also announced it will close 230 stores worldwide as its US parent company launches a massive restructuring programme.

The pressure on High Street retailers has hit an all-time high as they continue to try and keep up with the ever growing popularity of online shopping. 

Online retailers are able to keep prices low as they don’t face the massive rental costs of physical stores or the staff rates.

While retailers battle the rise in online shopping they are also being forced to battle Brexit, as many supply chain routes and whether or not they will be available in a no-deal scenario have put added cost worries onto retailers as many consider stock piling their items or not importing them at all. 

GAP (pictured above) also announced it was closing more than 200 stores as part of a worldwide restructuring programme

GAP (pictured above) also announced it was closing more than 200 stores as part of a worldwide restructuring programme

The rise in online shopping with companies such as Amazon has also put a strain on the High Street

The rise in online shopping with companies such as Amazon has also put a strain on the High Street 

Here are some of the big name retailers which have lost out as they face fierce competition from the rise of online shopping

Carpetright

The carpet retailer is closing 92 stores across the UK. These closures represent nearly a quarter of all UK Carpetright stores.

Toys R’ Us

The UK’s largest toy shop went into administration in February 2018, leading to an estimated 2,000 redundancies.

House of Fraser

The department store chain was on the verge of heading into administration but was rescued at the eleventh hour by Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley.

Maplin

The electronics giant has gone bust, closing shops across the country and putting thousands of jobs at risk.

Mothercare

The baby and toddler chain is closing 60 shops across the UK putting up to 900 jobs at risk.

Poundworld

Poundworld announced it was going into administration on June 11 after talks with potential buyer R Capital broke down, putting 5,100 jobs at risk.

Homebase

The DIY chain set to close 42 DIY outlets shut, putting around 1,500 jobs at risk.

Marks & Spencer

The retailer announced in May it plans to close 100 stores by 2022, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

In August stores in Northampton, Falkirk, Kettering, Newmarket, New Mersey Speke, Stockton and Walsall all ceased trading.

Orla Kiely 

Orla Kiely, the Irish fashion retailer collapsed in September and closed all its stores after a slump in profits.

HMV

In December HMV entered into administration with its flagship London Oxford Street having closed earlier this year.  

L.K Bennett

Fashion brand L.Bennett announced it was filing for administration on March 1, 2019. Linda Bennett sent employees an email early in the morning to inform them of the news before it hit news outlets.

Pretty Green

In March, Liam Gallagher’s Pretty Green filed a notice of intention to appoint Moorfields Advisory to handle insolvency problems across its UK stores. At the beginning of April 2019 JD Sports purchased the company, saving around 70 jobs.

Debenhams

Debenhams fell into administration in April with debts of £640million following three profits warnings last year.

The firm has 166 stores and employs 25,000 people but has announced plans for around 50 stores to close in the next two years, with 22 shutting by 2020, affecting 1,200 jobs.

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