QUIZ to close 11 stores as administration deal completed

QUIZ has confirmed the completion of its restructuring, after its retail arm was briefly placed into administration this morning, which has resulted in the closure of 11 stores and the loss of 93 jobs.

The fast fashion retailer put its retail store subsidiary Kast Retail Ltd (KRL) into administration before buying its stock and other assets for £1.3 million and is renegotiating leases with landlords across the UK.

Some 822 members of the firm's 915 staff will be transferred to a new subsidiary called Zandra. QUIZ will retain its head office in Glasgow along with a distribution centre in Bellshill but the following stores will be closed permanently:

Ashton-under-Lyne

Ballymena (Northern Ireland)

Bradford

Chester

Cork (Republic of Ireland)

Ipswich

Antrim – Junction 1 (Northern Ireland)

Kirkcaldy

Oxford

Taunton

Yeovil

Blair Nimmo, joint administrator and head of restructuring for KPMG UK, said: “A combination of a highly challenging environment for bricks and mortar retailers during recent years and the Covid-19 lockdown have proven impossible for KRL to overcome. Despite their best efforts, the directors of KRL concluded that an administration of KRL was unavoidable.

“First and foremost, our efforts will be devoted to assisting redundant employees with claims, including supporting their interaction with relevant government agencies. We are already engaging with relevant employee support bodies. We are pleased to secure the sale to Zandra, as this will safeguard the KRL business, whilst protecting 822 jobs, and we wish Zandra every success for the future.”

CEO Tarak Ramzan added: "It is with deep sadness and regret for some of our colleagues and partners that we had to take this decision to restructure the Group's operations. Physical retail in the UK was facing a major structural challenge prior to the outbreak of Covid-19 with the economics of operating stores on traditional leases becoming increasingly difficult.

"Whilst we have taken proactive actions over the past 18 months to drive footfall to our stores and renegotiate leases to improve performance, the significant economic uncertainty we now face as consumers and businesses emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that, in order to ensure a sustainable future for the Group, we have taken this decision to place the subsidiary which operates our stores into administration.

"We continue to believe that stores, with appropriate property costs and flexible lease terms, can continue to be a relevant pillar in our omni-channel model and we will be seeking to re-open QUIZ stores where we believe it is prudent and economic to do so.

QUIZ announced this morning that it planned to place its loss-making stores arm into administration.