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Tag: Karen Millen

  • Karen Millen stores closing down

    Karen Millen stores closing down

    Administrators have been appointed to wind down the Australian arm of Karen Millen, after the business fell into administration in Britain last month.

    The UK fashion brand, which turned over approximately $19 million in Australia last year, operates seven independent stores and eight concessions in David Jones and Myer department stores.

    Deloitte partners Richard Hughes, Tim Norman and Michael Billingsley, who have been appointed joint and several administrators, said they would conduct a controlled wind-down of the business in the coming weeks.

    Approximately 80 employees, many of them casuals, will be impacted by the closure.

    “If quick, shoppers can expect some bargains with discounted stock being sold from stores and online until the end of this month,” administrators said in a statement.

    The local shut-down follows the collapse of Karen Millen in the UK last month. Administrators there are in the process of closing more than 200 bricks-and-mortar stores, putting at risk more than 11000 jobs. Head office staff have already been made redundant.

    Karen Millen’s online business was bought by global e-commerce fashion giant Boohoo for £18 million, a move that left some scratching their heads.

    “I don’t get it,” the CEO of an upmarket fashion retailer said, contrasting Karen Millen’s relatively high-priced garments with the £5 fast fashion items sold by Boohoo.

    Boohoo has a local online presence in Australia. It is unclear whether it will launch a local online presence for Karen Millen going forward.

    Karen Millen has stores in:

    • DFO South Wharf, VIC
    • Emporium, VIC
    • Chadstone, VIC
    • Doncaster, VIC
    • QVB, NSW
    • Chatswood Chase, NSW
    • Burnside Village, SA
    • David Jones concessions in Sydney and Melbourne CBDs
    • Myer concessions in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane CBDs, Bondi, Chadstone and Perth

    Customers holding gift cards or who are members of loyalty programs will have their benefits honored. Administrators advise those consumers to refer to the Customer FAQ section of the Karen Millen website for further details.

  • Online fashion retailer Boohoo ready to buy Karen Millen and Coast

    Online fashion retailer Boohoo ready to buy Karen Millen and Coast

    Fast-growing pure-play online fashion retailer Boohoo is preparing to acquire the Karen Millan and Coast brands.

    According to sources quoted by Sky News, Karen Millen will be placed in administration as early as today, UK time, in what is termed a “pre-pack administration” where the new buyer acquires the assets relatively unencumbered.

    The deal – assuming it proceeds – is remarkable in that it reflects the power of new-generation online retailers being in a place to pounce on struggling brands like Karen Millen, itself an icon of the high-street fashion scene.

    Boohoo Group, listed on AIM, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange, owns a controlling share in PrettyLittleThing. Last month, thanks to an association with reality TV series Love Island and high-profile celebrity endorsements, Boohoo overtook Asos as the most valuable online fashion retailer in the UK, its valuation touching £2.35 billion. Its share price has surged 29 percent this calendar year.

    According to Sky News’ sources, Karen Millen is about to appoint Deloitte as administrator of the business, preparing the way for Boohoo to proceed with the purchase.

    The two fashion labels have been on the market for six weeks during which management attempted to secure a sale of the business while it remained solvent. Karen Millen bought Coast out of administration last October. Karen Millen and Coast were both previously owned by Icelandic bank Kaupthing.

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  • Karen Millen helps Coast recover

    Karen Millen helps Coast recover

    British clothing retailer Karen Millen has bought a stake in fashion label Coast following the brand’s administration by PwC. The purchasing company has agreed to take on Coast’s UK concessions portfolio and online businesses, saving 600 jobs in the ailing firm. It will be trading through cooperating wholesale and franchise businesses. Coast’s standalone stores were excluded from the deal.

    Karen Millen CEO Beth Butterwick said: “We are excited to be welcoming over 600 Coast employees to the family. With its beautiful fabrics, stunning colours and signature designs, Coast is a much-loved fashion brand that has dressed women for all occasions since 1996. Our expertise and infrastructure puts us in a unique position to create a lean and profitable business, ensuring it remains a thriving destination in department stores and online.”

    Coast was originally part of a group owned by Karen Millen’s parent company, Icelandic bank Kaupthing.

    Coast gift cards and returns will be honoured by its new owners.

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  • Singapore Golden Week targets shoppers

    Singapore Golden Week targets shoppers

    Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) is launching the inaugural Singapore Golden Week (SGW), a lifestyle event to be held over three weekends from September 30  to October 16.

    Its aim is to heighten Singapore’s appeal as a lifestyle destination with a suite a retail privileges, shopping reward and pampering experiences as enticement.

    Global payment network UnionPay is the official card for the event, with special privileges for cardholders across more than participating outlets including retail, F&B, beauty and wellness, and hotels and attractions.

    As well as exclusive discounts, cardholders are offered gifts when making purchases at participating merchants using their cards. The merchants involved include department stores Isetan Scotts, Metro and Robinsons, clothing labels Dockers, Dorothy Perkins, Karen Millen, Levi’s, TM Lewin, Topman, Topshop and Warehouse; and attractions such as the Alive Museum.

    There is also a game in which cardholders can win shopping vouchers and prizes worth more than S$10,000 (US$7388) in all, based at Ion Orchard.

    Visitors – not just cardholders – are also welcome at the UnionPay Golden Pampering Lounge in Ion Orchard’s atrium, which offers gourmet coffee and free-flow gourmet cookies.

    Cardholders can access the VIP area, which has massage chairs plus gourmet coffee sprinkled with edible gold dust.

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  • Retail closures add to Wing Tai woes

    Retail closures add to Wing Tai woes

    Costs related to the closure of retail stores were among the factors contributing to reduced second-quarter earnings for Singapore’s Wing Tai Holdings.

    Store closures caused a 12 per cent rise to S$23.8 million in administrative and other expenses quarter-on-quarter, according to a stock exchange filing by the company.

    Lower rental income and depreciation from its Singapore retail outlets also resulted in a 20 per cent fall in distribution expenses to S$22.2 million from S$27.7 million. No dividend was declared for the quarter.

    Wing Tai’s retail division represents the brands Adidas, Fox Kids and Baby, Topshop, BCBGMaxazria, G2000, Topman, Burton Menswear London, I.T., Uniqlo, Dorothy Perkins, Karen Millen, Warehouse, Etam, Pumpkin Patch and Yoshinoya. The company also has hospitality, residential and commercial property interests.

    Also contributing to the second-quarter net profit fall of 85 per cent year-on-year to S$1.08 million were lower contributions from the property development segment and a higher tax rate. These were partially offset by a stronger share of profits from associates/JVs, and lower distribution expenses.

    Overall, the group said earnings had come in below expectations as its operating and sales environment had proved tougher than anticipated. However, it is confident it is well-positioned to ride out the current down-cycle with its portfolio of prime residential and investment assets.

    Cooling measures will continue to weigh on market sentiment in Singapore this year, the group expects, while economic conditions in Malaysia will probably keep sales soft.

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  • Arcadia Malaysia partner rules out expansion

    Arcadia Malaysia partner rules out expansion

    Wing Tai, the corporate retailer which partners with Uniqlo and a raft of other brands, including the Arcadia Malaysia stores, says it is streamlining its retail business.

    The listed company has 85 retail stores in Malaysia’s major cities under 12 international brands – Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, Warehouse, Karen Millen, Pumpkin Patch, Wallies, BCBG, Ben Sherman, Burton and Furla. It also has a 45 per cent stake in the joint venture with Japan’s Fast Retailing, operating 25 Uniqlo stores.

    Wing Tai GM of finance Lee Kong Beng says while the Uniqlo store network, targeting the value driven fast fashion customers, will expand into suburban markets, the Arcadia brands like Topshop and Topman have reached their limits in Malaysia.

    “We will not expand (the Arcadia brands),” he told a press briefing this week.

    He said while there were no current plans to close Arcadia stores, if any store failed to generate positive cashflow or profit it would be cut.

    “For retail, we’d just consolidate because it’s challenging. So no point being a hero, where you open outlets and the sale is not there.”

    Lee said the company was finding the current retail market in Malaysia challenging following the introduction of GST on April 1, which consumers are slowly adjusting to.

    An influx of tourists was bolstering the group’s earnings, with spending holding up in stores in high profile shopping malls.

    “We expect retail sales to pick up because of the weakening of the ringgit, so it’s cheaper to shop in Malaysia rather than in Singapore. It’s a matter of time people get used to GST. We see that (retail sales) are more stabilised now,” Lee said.

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