Carlisle-based retail chain Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM), which operates more than 1,100 stores, recently filed a notice to appoint administrators, putting 24,000 jobs at risk. Government-enforced lockdowns resulting from the pandemic led to lower sales, the company said. There were also allegations, which it denies, that it failed to pay Bangladeshi suppliers.
Staff were reportedly told that stores will continue trading for the time being while insolvency experts have 10 days to try and find a buyer for the business, which also owns high street brands Peacocks and Jaeger.Carlisle-based retail chain Edinburgh Woollen Mill, which operates more than 1,100 stores, recently filed a notice to appoint administrators, putting 24,000 jobs at risk. Government-enforced lockdowns resulting from the pandemic led to lower sales, the company said. There were also allegations, which it denies, that it failed to pay Bangladeshi suppliers.#
EWM chief executive Steve Simpson said the company found the past seven months extremely difficult like every other retailer and the situation turned worse in recent weeks as it had to deal with a series of rumours about its payments and trading that affected its credit insurance.
“Traditionally, EWM has always traded with strong cash reserves and a conservative balance sheet, but these stories, the reduction in credit insurance, against the backdrop of the lockdown and now this second wave of COVID-19, and all the local lockdowns, have made normal trading impossible,” he was quoted as saying by British media reports.
A spokesman for business advisory group FRP said: “Our team is working with the directors of a number of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group subsidiaries to explore all options for the future of its retail brands Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Jaeger, Ponden Home and Peacocks.”
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