M&Co’s 170 stores are now expected to close this spring, once administrators have cleared stock through both its stores and its website, before the website is then passed to its new owners.
Yours Clothing owner AK Retail Holdings bought the M&Co website, brand and related intellectual property for an undisclosed sum last week. A clearance sale is currently running on its website, where discounts of between 30% and 50% are available, as well as in its stores.
Individual M&Co stores updated customers on Facebook over the weekend. A post by its Oswestry store says: “Sadly we received the news yesterday, that although the M&Co brand name has been bought by A K Retail, none of our lovely shops will be saved. We are all devastated by this news, but will continue to work together to bring our shop to a close. We haven’t been given an official date yet, but are expecting to continue trading into April.
“We continue to receive deliveries as the business clears the warehouse and we are even receiving some new Spring lines in, still at fab 30% discount.”
M&Co was one of the UK’s largest privately owned fashion and lifestyle retailers when it went into administration in December. Since then administrators from Teneo Financial Advisory have been running the M&Co website and stores as they looked for a buyer for the business. They will now continue doing so as they wind down the business and clear stock. Once that is complete, the M&Co website will transfer to Yours Clothing.
A spokesperson for Teneo Financial Advisory says the transaction, which closed on Thursday, was judged to represent the best option currently available for creditors. Its terms are not disclosed.
When M&Co went into administration in December, it employed 1,910 people and sold online through its own website, through third-party websites such as Next, Zalando and Amazon and through 170 shops.
The retailer has been in business for more than 60 years – although it previously failed in 2020, when the family that founded it bought it out of administration. It specialised in serving shoppers in towns and on local high streets.
At the time of the administration Gavin Park, joint administrator at Teneo, said the failure came as the business experience a sharp rise in input costs, which coincided with falling consumer confidence and resulted in trading challenges. “Despite a very loyal customer base, particularly in local markets, and a well-recognised brand, the current economic outlook has placed increasing pressure on the company’s cash position,” he said.
M&Co is ranked Top100 retailer in RXUK Top500 research.
