The womenswear group behind Jacques Vert has gone into administration putting 1,000 UK high street jobs at risk, it has been confirmed.
Calvetron Brands blamed “extremely difficult” retail conditions as it called in Duff & Phelps to oversee the process – a day after the story was first reported by Sky News.
The collapse makes Calvetron the latest in a long line of high street casualties amid a combination of rising costs and dwindling consumer confidence.
Jacques Vert dates back to 1972, when it was founded by two east London tailors.
Calvetron operates about 300 UK store concessions in stores such as Debenhams, House of Fraser and M&Co, with brands including Precis, Dash and Eastex as well as Jacques Vert.
It will continue to trade while administrators review options to sell the business.
Calvetron employs 997 people in the UK, 155 in Ireland and 256 in Canada.
Chief executive Peter Ridler said staff had worked “with energy and determination to achieve the turnaround that was needed”.
“However, a combination of four brands that needed time and investment, against a backdrop of extremely difficult trading conditions on the high street, rising costs and low customer confidence has meant that we haven’t been able to achieve this within the timescales required,” he added.
Philip Duffy, of Duff & Phelps, said that at a time when fashion retailers were facing a squeeze on consumer spending, Calvetron was also carrying “legacy issues” such as high costs which it had been unable to address quickly enough.
Calvetron bought Jacques Vert and other brands out of administration last year.
It is the latest retailer to run into difficulties in recent months, after the collapses of Toys R Us and Maplin.
Elsewhere, New Look has entered a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) rescue plan involving the closure of 60 stores and loss of 980 jobs.
This week, House of Fraser revealed it was preparing to launch a CVA which would see an unspecified number of its department stores shut.
From – SkyNews
