Fashion chain Peacocks and Jaeger enter administration

British fashion retailers Peacocks and Jaeger have fallen into administration, putting over 4,700 jobs at risk. The news comes after parent company Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group (EWM) failed to agree a rescue deal for the retailers. EWM Group's flagship retailer entered administration earlier this month.

Peacocks, a budget fashion retailer based in Cardiff, currently employs 4,369 staff at 423 stores, while the more upmarket Jaeger employs 347 staff at 76 outlets. Jaeger also includes the event and formalwear retailers Jacques Vert and Austin Reed.

The chains, including Jacques Vert and Austin Reed, have been placed into administration after talks for a rescue deal failed to be resolved ahead of a legal deadline on Friday. As of yet, no store closures or staff redundancies have been announced and administrators FRP Advisory say they will continue to trade while options are considered.

Joint administrator and partner at FRP Tony Wright commented: “Jaeger and Peacocks are attractive brands that have suffered the well-known challenges that many retailers face at present. We are in advanced discussions with a number of parties and working hard to secure a future for both businesses.”

EWM said: “In recent weeks we have had constructive discussions with a number of potential buyers for Peacocks and Jaeger but the continuing deterioration of the retail sector due to the impact of the pandemic and second lockdown have made this process longer and more complex than we would have hoped.”

“Therefore, as directors, we have taken the desperately difficult decision to place Peacocks and Jaeger into administration while those talks continue. We will continue to do all we can to support FRP advisory in trying to secure the best outcome possible for these businesses.”

EWM Group is owned by entrepreneur Philip Day, who is thought to be hoping to rescue Peacocks and Jaeger but is reportedly seeking a buyer for Austin Reed and Jacques Vert. Reported potential buyers include private equity-owned Torque Brands and Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group.

Day has been accused of underinvesting in brands that he acquires (often from distressed states), which, combined with a slowdown in high street spending in recent years, has left these businesses unprepared for the strains of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In particular, a historic disregard for the retailers’ online offerings has been blamed for many of their struggles during lockdown, a time when online retail has boomed.

Retailer Bonmarche, which Day acquired from administrators last year, is said to be unaffected by the administration.


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