- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Pramod Thomas
BRITISH online fashion retailer Boohoo has bought the Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton brands from the administrators of Arcadia for £25.2 million($34.6m), completing the break-up of Philip Green’s fallen empire.
Like rival ASOS’s purchase last month of Arcadia’s prized Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands, Boohoo’s deal does not include any stores, putting thousands of jobs at risk.
All 214 sites in the UK store network of Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Wallis will close following the brands’ sale, administrators Deloitte said on Monday(8).
Boohoo has purchased the three brands but not its stores, concessions and franchises.
Deloitte said just 260 employees across the three brands, including in design, buying, merchandising and digital, would transfer to Boohoo.
Arcadia fell into administration in November owing creditors hundreds of millions of pounds and threatening more than 13,000 jobs.
Its collapse was the biggest corporate failure of the Covid-19 pandemic so far.
Arcadia’s administrators, Deloitte, sold the Evans brand to Australia’s City Chic for £23m in December.
Boohoo said the purchase of the three brands was a significant opportunity to grow its market share across a broader demographic.
Last month Boohoo bought the Debenhams brand out of administration for £55m. That deal also excluded Debenhams’ stores and its 12,000 staff. All Debenhams’ UK stores will permanently close this year.
Founded in 2006 by Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane, Boohoo expanded its operations quickly, listing its shares in 2014. It sells fashion, beauty and products and shoes aimed at 16 to 24-year-olds.
