Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
The Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) Group, the British fashion retail company, has announced that it will close 50 shops, mainly Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Peacocks branches, across the country, making 600 jobs redundant with immediate effect. The affected jobs are primarily shop-floor worker roles. The closures are the first phase of the company restructuring.
The chief executive said that EWM Group is facing 'extremely difficult' challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and added that the aim of the restructuring is to 'secure the best future' for the business.
The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group had 1,100 shops across the UK and it employed 24,000 people before the restructuring. The group operates shops under five brand names, The Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Peacocks, Jaeger, Ponden Home Shops and Bonmarché. The Group made 100 head office jobs redundant in March, at the beginning of the pandemic.
Updated, 7/11/2020: The EWM Group has announced that two of its brands, Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Ponden Home Shops had entered administration. The administrators confirmed that 56 Edinburgh Woollen Mill stores and 8 Ponden Home shops would be closed, making a total of 866 jobs redundant. The remaining shops of the two chains continue to trade while the administrators are looking for a potential buyer.
Updated, 27/11/2020: Jaeger, the British fashion chain, announced that it would close 13 shops across the UK, making 103 jobs redundant, including 56 head office and 47 in-store roles. The announcement of the restructuring was made a week after the Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) Group had placed Jaeger into administration.
Updated, 18/01/2021: The administrators of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) Group have announced that the brands, Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Ponden Home Shops have been bought out of administration. However, 485 jobs will be lost as 85 Edinburgh Woollen Mill and 34 Ponden Home stores will not reopen when the COVID-19 restrictions in the UK come to an end. The deal saves 246 stores and 1,453 jobs.
Jaeger, another brand of the EWM Group has also been acquired as part of the administration process but 63 stores and concessions will be permanently closed, with a loss of 233 store and head office jobs. The total number of job losses reported at the EWM Group across the three brands is now at 1,687.
Eurofound (2020), Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group, Bankruptcy in United Kingdom, factsheet number 102265, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/102265.
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