It's not been an easy few years for Britain's retail sector. Despite an exceptionally challenging trading environment in 2022, total UK retail sales increased by 3.1% last year from 2021.
On a total basis, sales increased by 6.9% in December - up from 2.1% the year previously. Despite the uptick in spending, however, sales growth remained below inflation at the end of last year. And the industry is facing "further headwinds" in 2023, according to the boss of the British Retail Consortium (BRC)
Helen Dickinson, the BRC's chief executive, said cost pressures show "little immediate signs of waning".
She said: "Consumer spending will be further constrained by increasing living costs. Retailers are juggling big cost increases while trying to keep prices as low as possible for their customers."
The troubles weighing on the sector follow the pandemic, which saw the collapse of many high street brands. Now the added pressures of supply chain issues caused by the war in Ukraine; record levels of inflation; and a cost-of-living squeeze impacting consumer spending, are pushing many retailers to the brink.
“With Christmas behind us, retailers are facing a challenging few months as consumers manage rising interest rates and energy prices by reducing their non-essential spending, and industrial action across a number of sectors could also impact sales," added Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG. "The strong demand across certain categories that has protected some retailers will undoubtedly fall away so we can expect high street casualties as we head into the spring."
Here, BusinessLive takes a look at data gathered by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) which reveals the retailers that called in administrators last year.
M&Co
The fashion chain appointed administrators for the second time in December. It had previously restructured in 2020 using pre-pack administration, closing 47 stores. It currently has 180 UK stores and employs 3,900 people.
Adele MacLeod, Gavin George Scott Park and Robert James Harding of Teneo Financial Advisory were appointed joint administrators. The company continues to trade.
Shuropody
Hundreds of jobs were saved after the shoe and podiatry retailer was bought out of administration in December. The company, which has 39 stores, was immediately bought by part of Baaj Capital on a pre-pack basis. The stores continue to trade and no redundancies were announced. There are 260 staff working for the firm.
Stanton Bikes
The Derbyshire-based mountain bike manufacturer and retailer went into administration in November. Dean Nelson and Nick Lee, of PKF Smith Cooper, were appointed joint administrators. The company, which is based two miles east of Matlock, has continued to trade following the administration as the business looks for a buyer. The retailer brought in administrators following a petition by a creditor to the high court.
Elite Sports Group
The business, which provides merchandise, retail services and runs the sports shops of many football clubs, went into administration in November. It was a partner of Danish company Hummel, which is not affected by Elite's failure. The clubs it services included Southampton, Milwall, Coventry, Newport County, Northampton Town and Oldham (among others). According to the CRR, Coventry and Northampton Town temporarily closed their fan shops following the administration, while Southampton ended its agreement with Elite.
Joules
Fashion chain Joules collapsed into administration on November 14, putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk. The retailer said it was suspending trading in its shares following months of financial difficulties.
Tom Joule, who launched the business in his home town of Market Harborough in 1989 and helped grow it to a turnover of more than £200m, said he was sorry for what had happened, but hoped it could continue supplying its products, and with him playing a part. He also reassured shoppers it would remain “business as usual” while administrators Interpath Advisory take over the group’s finances.
AMT
The coffee specialist was sold out of administration in November 2022 after being bought by SSP Group, but there was a loss of 100 jobs. A total of 25 coffee shops were rescued as part of the deal - and continue to trade - but 18 sites were closed down. The head office was also shut. AMT was started by three McCallum-Toppin brothers - Alistair, Angus and Allan - in 1993 after they left what is now Oxford Brookes University. The chain had sites in airports, train stations and hospitals.
Garth Bakery and Sarah Snacks
The Wales-based bakery business, which was established in 1983, went into administration in November, according to the CRR. There were 98 staff and 22 delivery vehicles.
Based in Abercynon, South Wales, the company ceased trading immediately with 89 of its 98 employees made redundant. Administrators were appointed and the nine remaining office staff and directors were made redundant two days later.
Joint administrator David Kemp of SFP Group said: “While our review is still in its infancy, we understand that a variety of pressures, including general prices rises, have contributed to the closure.”
Clever-Company
The inflatable hot tub firm Clever-Company went into administration in October after demand for its products fell amid rising energy costs. The Cheshire-based business supplied inflatable hot tubs and related accessories to retailers and directly to consumers. Some 25 staff members were made redundant, with nine remaining to support the administration.
Made.com
The furniture and household retailer focusing went into administration in November, putting hundreds of jobs at risk. The business had been refusing to take any more orders from October.
The company, which employed around 600 staff, said it would sell its brand, websites and intellectual property to clothes retailer Next. However, the deal did not include the stock, staff or other assets and liabilities, according to the CRR.
It was a sharp downturn for the firm, which launched on the London Stock Exchange less than two years ago with a £775m price tag and promises of accelerated growth and leading the online furniture market.
TheVeganKind (TVK)
The largest UK vegan supermarket appointed recovery firm Interpath Advisory as administrators on October 11 and was immediately bought in a pre-pack dea by its largest shareholder. All 38 of the company's employees were transferred to the new owners under the terms of the transaction.
TVK stocks 5,000 vegan and cruelty-free products in its supermarket and fulfilment centre at Rutherglen, Glasgow. It also operates the largest vegan subscription-box service, shipping 10,000 vegan 'Discovery Boxes' every month. The business continues to trade without interruption.
Eve Sleep
The online mattress retailer was sold to Bensons for Beds after falling into administration in October. The move came after what the company's management called a "tsunami" of increased costs and supply issues.
The AIM-listed brand, which operates in the UK, Ireland and France, appointed Matt Ingram and Jimmy Saunders of Kroll Advisory to handle the administration and following sale.
When the company floated in 2019, it was worth £140m. No staff are thought likely to transfer to Bensons.
Jupiter Group
The Newport-based fruit supplier went into administration in early September after facing supply chain issues and rising costs. Tim Bateson and Chris Pole of Interpath Advisory were appointed as the joint administrators.
The majority of the retailer's 85 employees staff were made redundant, while the remaining workers were kept on to assist with the administration. Following the collapse, Interpath Advisory invited parties interested in buying up Jupiter’s assets, which include a subsidiary in Chile, to get in touch.
Bon Accord shopping centre's owner
The owner of Aberdeen's Bon Accord collapsed in September - but the shopping centre continues to trade as usual. Guernsey-based Aberdeen Retail 1 Ltd and Aberdeen Retail 2 Ltd had been facing cash flow problems following the pandemic and appointed acountancy firm Azets as administrators, who said they would look for a buyer.
Bon Accord was built in 1990 and merged with the adjacent St Nicholas centre in 2020. It has had several owners over the years.
Tree of Life
A total of 143 members of staff at the health and lifestyle wholesaler were made redundant when the company went into administration in August. Health Stores (Wholesale) Limited also collapsed. Chris Pole and Ryan Grant from Interpath Advisory were appointed to oversee the administration of both companies.
The business employed 206 employees across two sites in Newcastle-under-Lyme and Nottingham. Some 63 employees were kept on within the business to assist the administrators.
In a statement, Interpath Advisory said: “Over recent months, the group has faced a number of challenges including an unexpected sales decline following the loss of a large customer, and unprecedented market conditions that have impacted on financial performance. Despite significant efforts by the company to avoid insolvency, the directors reached the conclusion that it was in the best interest of creditors for the company to be placed into administration."
Carzam
The online car retailer, which was headquartered in Peterborough, was established in 2020 to disrupt the automotive industry but collapsed into administration just two years later, according to the CRR.
Adam Stephens and Greg Palfrey of Evelyn Partners - formerly Smith & Williamson - were appointed joint administrators in June. Supply troubles and intense competition for new models and quality-condition second-hand cars made it hard to acquire sufficient stock, according to the CRR.
Studio Retail Group
The Lancashire-headquartered online retailer, whose largest shareholder is Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, went into administration in mid-February 2022.
Studio Retail Group, which sells clothing, homeware, electricals and gifts, reported sales at £579m in the last financial year with a 2.5 million customer base.
Frasers Group, which owns House of Fraser, Sports Direct and Evans Cycles, bought the digital retailer in a £26.8m deal with a promise of spending £100m on the business and saving around 1,500 jobs.
It was revealed that Studio Retail Group owed more than £80m when it collapsed into administration and was sold to Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group for just £1.
Administrators Teneo said the group owed £50m for a revolving credit facility and £3.1m for other facilities when it entered administration.
Sofa Workshop
High Street retailer Sofa Workshop, which offered e-commerce as well as 16 bricks-and-mortar stores across the UK, collapsed this month with the loss of 77 jobs.
Appointed administrator PwC said supply chain and transport costs had contributed to trading losses and outweighed ‘significant revenues’.
The company said it was no longer taking orders but existing orders will be fulfilled. The existing customer order book was sold to Timothy Oulton United Kingdom Ltd, part of the Halo Group, which is the owner of The Sofa Workshop.
In a statement the administrators said: "Given the cash flow position of the business, potential sale options were explored with the aim of a purchaser providing the funding required to continue to deliver the business plan and take the Company forward. However, no viable offers were received."
T M Lewin
T M Lewin, established in 1898, fell into administration for the second time last month after it entered an insolvency process and was bought by US-owned Torque Brands and switched to an online-only model in the summer of 2020.
The shirtmaker, which employs around 50 staff, faced challenges caused by the fall in formal shirt purchases as consumers worked from home and restrictions on large events.
Prior to the pandemic, the company had grown to operate more than 150 shops worldwide.
Will Wright of appointed administrator Interpath Advisory said: “Over the pandemic, men’s apparel - and formalwear in particular - has been one of the hardest hit parts of the retail sector, as work-from-home measures and restrictions on events meant demand for suits and formal tailoring waned.”
He added: “Unfortunately, and despite the Company undergoing a significant restructuring at the start of the pandemic which saw it move to an online model, the impact on this famous British brand has been severe.”
It was last reported in The Times that Mike Ashley's Frasers Group, Marks & Spencer, Charles Tyrwhitt and Crew Clothing were all circling to buy T M Lewin.
J C Rook and Sons
J C Rook and Sons went into administration last month closing its chain of 11 stores and large online business and making 155 redundancies.
For more than 50 years, Kent-based family butchers, which was currently run by the third generation of Rooks, had survived many disruptions to the high street.
However, it said it couldn’t ride out the decline in trade caused by the Covid pandemic.
A production and distribution facility in Ramsgate and a food service facility in Shoreham also shut.
Dawnfresh Seafoods and R R Spink & Sons
One of the UK’s largest retail supplier of fish and seafood, Dawnfresh Seafoods and R R Spink & Sons were another retailer to go into administration last month.
Founded in 1973 and headquartered in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, the business operates seven fish farms across Northern Ireland and Scotland, with production and processing facilities in Uddingston and Arbroath.
Recently, the firm had invested in plant and systems upgrades to improve efficiency and reduce costs, however it continued to suffer from rising costs, overcapacity and cash flow issues.
Joint administrators FRP Advisory secured a sale of the Arbroath facility to Lossie Seafoods, while the subsidiary business Dawnfresh Farming will continue trading solvently.
The Uddingston facility, which was heavily loss-making, will close with immediate effect resulting in 200 redundancies.
AEO EU (American Eagle)
The US mens and womenswear brand, American Eagle, was due to return to UK retail with two store openings in London’s Carnaby Street.
It first made its debut with three stores in 2014 but pulled out in 2017.
However, plans were dashed after the brand’s US holding company, AEO EU, which holds the licence to trade the brand in the UK, went into liquidation in January.
The US owner of American Eagle ended the licence agreement over an unpaid debt of $7.7m (€6.75m) and lack of progress in meeting the terms of the original licence.
Trinity Group
Trinity Group, which owns heritage menswear brands Gieves & Hawkes, Kent & Curwen and Cerutti, fell into administration at the start of the year.
It made the announcement after attempts to find a buyer for historic Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes failed.
The Chinese-owned upmarket fashion firm has now appointed FTI Consulting and R&H Services as joint liquidators.
The brands have now become subsidiaries and it is hoped the sale of these assets will repay Trinity’s creditors.
Steptronic Footwear
Luxury footwear brand, Steptronic, which is sold internationally in over 3,000 high street stores went into administration in March.
The Rushden-based business also has its own direct-to-consumer website.
Business advisory firm Kroll was appointed administrator following supply chain challenges.
Kroll joint managing director Jimmy Saunders said: “The retail sector has faced a number of well-publicised challenges and coupled with shipping and supplier delays and a legacy balance sheet debt, the company was unable to meet its liabilities.”
He added: “Any prospective buyers for the business are encouraged to come forward as soon as possible.”
Big Home Shop and Physioroom
The Burnley-based retailers collapsed in January.
Big Home Shop, which sells garden furniture, outdoor equipment and other furniture items via Amazon and other online marketplaces, said sales and costs were affected by shipment delays from China and it could not raise the extra finance required by lenders and creditors.
Physioroom, an online retailer of home exercise and injury protection equipment, was reliant on Big Home Shop for a number of services.
Interpath Advisory were appointed administrators of both companies and in February, the companies and their assets were bought by Nottinghamshire-based Kybotech Group.
Click It Local
East Suffolk online shopping scheme, Click It Local, fell into administration at the end of March after running out of capital.
The company launched as a virtual high street for local independent retailers, allowing shoppers to buy from local independent or high street shops through one payment and offer same or next day delivery.
It had 35 live stores in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Brighton, London and East Sussex.
A statement on Click It Local’s website said: “In what has been an increasingly challenging period, we have been working constantly over the last six months to secure the support and capital we need to continue in this effort.
“It has become apparent that we have exhausted all possible options. It is with very heavy hearts that we must sadly let you know that we will no longer be able to serve our cherished stores and customers.”
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