Marks & Spencer’s Jaeger acquisition has left more than 200 unemployed.
The British fashion brand, formerly a part of Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group, laid off 103 and shuttered 13 stores and concessions at the time of its November collapse into administration, which FRP Advisory is overseeing.
On Friday, joint administrators said that Jaeger’s 63 stores and concessions will permanently close, leaving 211 store employees and 22 head office staff—most of whom had been furloughed—out of work.
Another 13 workers from the head office and warehouse will stay on through the administration process.
EWM’s owner Sit Philip Day was hoping to secure financing to save parts of his empire, including value chain Peacocks and Jaeger, through a pre-packaged arrangement but was unable to do so within the required deadline time. Edinburgh Woolen Mill, the mid-price knitted woolens business that has stores in mostly tourist destinations, was the first to fall, followed by Peacocks’ collapse and then Jaeger’s downward spiral.
In addition to Jaeger deal, Edinburgh Woolen Mill, Ponden Home and Bonmarche found buyers via an international consortium, and were able to avoid liquidating. The future of Peacocks remains up in the air, with over 4,000 jobs in jeopardy.