New Look liquidates Irish business, 26 stores to close

Fast fashion retailer New Look is preparing to wind down its operations in Ireland, where a subsidiary for the company has been appointed a provisional liquidators following a battle with widening losses over several years.

The High Court has approved the appointment for New Look Retailers (Ireland) Limited after its parent company said it was withdrawing financial support for the subsidiary. Shane McCarthy and Cormac O’Connor of KPMG Ireland have been named as liquidators of the business, according to multiple news outlets.

New Look currently operates 26 stores in the Republic of Ireland (ROI), through which it employs around 347 staff. These employees, who were notified immediately following KPMG’s appointment, will now be subject to an impending 30-day staff consultation process.

Strategic review of Irish business determined unviable operations

In a statement to FashionUnited, a spokesperson for New Look confirmed that the redundancy process would impact all colleagues in the ROI. It added: "Over the past few years, we have had to navigate a tough external environment which has only become more unpredictable. While we have adapted to this evolving landscape by investing in our product proposition and digital offer, the increasingly volatile trading conditions have meant we need to expedite our existing plans."

New Look noted that the liquidation came after a strategic review of the Irish business determined that it was no longer viable to trade in the region. As such, the company will refocus investments on its UK business and digital offering.

The statement continued: "Our Irish business has struggled for many years due to rising costs and squeezed consumer spending, despite our efforts to turnaround the performance. Our focus now is on supporting our colleagues through this process. We remain confident in the UK market and take pride in offering our customers great-value, high-quality fashion.”

Stores will remain closed until February 23, when they will briefly reopen for clearance sales, after which New Look Retailers (Ireland) will cease trading.

The spokesperson further noted: "There is no impact to New Look Group. We continue to have a strong online and store presence in the UK and remain the number two womenswear retailer."

Difficulties surrounding British fast fashion retailers has been prominent this week, with the news of New Look’s Ireland exit coming just hours after it was revealed that Quiz had also fallen into administration. The filing impacts the retail subsidiary for Quiz’s UK and Ireland business, and has resulted in the closure of 23 stores across the two regions.

A subsidiary of Quiz’s founding Ramzan family has snapped up the remaining locations in a pre-pack administration deal.

This article was updated 15:18 CET, February 20, to include a statement received by FashionUnited by a spokesperson for New Look.