Type
Closure
Country
United Kingdom
Region
Location of affected unit(s)
Abersock, Aldeburgh, St Andrews, Dartmouth, Harrogate, St Ives, Lincoln, Rushden Lakes and Southwold, Exeter, Cambridge, Bath and Manchester Trafford Centre + other locations
Sector
Retail
Retail Trade, Except Of Motor Vehicles And Motorcycles
Retail Sale Of Other Goods In Specialised Stores
47.71 - Retail sale of clothing in specialised stores

100 - 500 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
26 March 2020
Employment effect (start)
26 March 2020
Foreseen end date

Description

The Frasers Group, the UK-based fashion and sports goods retailer, has announced that it will permanently close 31 out of 80 Jack Wills stores across the UK, making the affected employees redundant with immediate effect. The company has not disclosed the number of job redundancies caused by the closures, however more than 100 employees are likely to be affected.

A spokesperson for the company said that the closures were inevitable due to the high level of uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Jack Wills chain, which specialises in fashion for young people, was acquired by Sports Direct International in August 2019 – at that time Jack Wills Limited had 1,800 employees working in 110 shops. Sports Direct International was later renamed as ‘Frasers Group’.


Sources

Citation

Eurofound (2020), Frasers Group, Closure in United Kingdom, factsheet number 100223, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/100223.