British retail seems to be having a tough go of it early in the new year.
Frasers Group
Reports suggest Frasers Group is trying to get some of its suppliers to take less than what they invoiced the fashion retail giant. The Jack Wills and Flannels owner, which recently finalized the 47.5 million pound ($57.9 million) purchase of 14 brands from JD Sports, doesn’t seem to want to pay the full debt that comes along with its new acquisitions.
According to reports, Frasers asked some suppliers for a discount on invoices for merchandise they shipped when the acquired brands were still owned by JD.
One financial source said that since covid many retailers have gotten into the habit of negotiating upfront discounts before goods are shipped. This person said it appears Frasers is trying a similar approach, though after the fact. If that’s the case, swallowing the discount could mean a supplier gets paid before others who refuse to budge on the invoice price.
Executives at Frasers could not be reached for comment.
In the Style sells for $1.4M
In The Style sold for 1.2 million pounds ($1.4 million) to Baaj Capital LLP, a U.K.-based family office.
The deal kept the Gen Z and millennial women’s online fashion retailer out of administration, what the U.S. refers to as bankruptcy. A strategic review in December led to In The Style naming Lincoln International as its investment banker.
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In The Style said in a statement that January and February sales suffered from high markdowns and disappointing wholesale demand. It had just 900,000 pounds, or $1.1 million, at the end of February, a sharp drop from 3.2 million pounds ($3.8 million) on Dec. 31. The statement also said that the lack of cash, difficult climate and dismal outlook for new funding made bankruptcy likely.
Founded by Adam Frisby in 2013, In The Style was valued at 105 million pounds ($145.6 million) in March 2021 when it went public on the London Stock Exchange’s secondary AIM market. The IPO allowed investor Causeway Capital to partially exit its investment in the retailer. Frisby stepped down as CEO in December but is expected to return to the role once the deal is final.
The sale follows a legal victory for Frisby after The High Court of Manchester ruled in his favor in a legal dispute that saw businessman Paul Clements claim the founder stole the idea for In The Style from him.
Jim Sharp, In The Style’s chairman, said the board believes that the “new ownership structure—with Adam’s continued leadership and Baaj’s backing—the In The Style brand can continue to build on its potential” while protecting employees, suppliers and other stakeholders.
Boohoo Group
Struggling fast-fashion e-tailer Boohoo set up a new incentive plan for senior management.
“This plan facilitates retention and resolutely aligns our executives’ interests with those of shareholders,” Iain McDonald, chairman of the remuneration committee, said. “In designing the plan, we recognised it needed to go deeper into the business than prior schemes while leaving headroom to attract the world-class talent that is essential to the execution of our strategy and growth ambitions. This is why the plan extends beyond the executive to include additional members of the senior leadership and indeed the wider employee population while acting as a powerful recruitment and incentivisation tool for new joiners.”
The company’s revised reward structure lowers the threshold for receiving rewards to when shares reach 95 pence ($1.13), with additional incentives up to 395 pence ($4.68). The prior 2020 plan required shares to reach 500 pence ($5.92) before granting incentive rewards. The maximum award value is 175.0 million pounds ($207.1 million).
Mahmud Kamani, Boohoo’s executive chairman, said the plan aims to rebuild substantial shareholder value “within the next five years.”
Eligible participants have canceled their participation in previous incentive schemes.
Retail Sales
Retail sales in the U.K. rose 5.2 percent in February against a 6.7 percent increase in the same year-ago period, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor. In the three months to February, non-food sales including apparel and home soft goods rose 3.2 percent.
“While the cost-of-living crisis has made customers increasingly price-sensitive, they are still ready to celebrate special occasions,” BRC CEO Helen Dickinson said. Consumers weren’t buying coats and boots, and they might be getting worried about April’s higher energy prices and tax increases.
Fourth-quarter retail jobs fell to their lowest average in “over a decade,” BRC reported Tuesday, with numbers totaling 3.12 million, or 14,000 off from a year earlier. “Not all retail roles have been affected, as ongoing digital transformation has led to the creation of many new well-paid and exciting jobs,” Dickinson said, urging government officials to “unlock business investment in upskilling employees and creating thousands of more apprenticeship opportunities across the country.”
Additional reporting by Jessica Binns.