Arcadia break-up begins: Plus-size clothing brand Evans carved out of Philip Green’s ailing retail empire in £23m deal with Australian group
- Evans sold to City Chic for £23m, but deal does’t include stores and franchises
- Evan’s five standalone stores will continue to trade ‘for the time being’
- Buyers still needed for other Arcadia brands including Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Miss Selfridge, Burton and Outfit
Fashion firm Evans has become the first Arcadia brand to be sold off since Philip Green’s retail empire collapsed into administration at the end of November.
The plus-size clothing brand has been sold to Australian company City Chic for £23million, but the deal does not include its stores and franchise business.
Evans’ five standalone stores will continue to trade for the time being, administrators said, although eventually they will close down. City Chic said they are entitled to trade until the end of March 2021 in order to liquidate existing stock.
Sold: Plus-size clothing brand Evans has been sold for £23m to Australian company City Chic
The sale of the Evans brand, which is expected to be completed on Wednesday, is the first for Arcadia.
Its other brands, which include Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Miss Selfridge, Burton and Outfit, are still up for grabs.
Deloitte, Arcadia’s administrators, said the process to find new buyers for the remaining Arcadia brands is ongoing.
They added: ‘There have been significant expressions of interest for all brands. The joint administrators expect to provide a further update in the new year.’
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group and fashion giant Next are among dozens of potential bidders for Arcadia.
Chloe Collins, senior retail analyst at GlobalData, said Evans’ acquisition has now forced a split of Arcadia’s brands, leaving Wallis and Burton Menswear most at risk.
‘Splitting up the brands does seem to be the best way to give them the best chance of survival, as their different niches and core customers mean they need more targeted attention,’ she said.
While there is no doubt that Topshop will attract multiple bids, with the likes of Boohoo and Next reportedly interested, Wallis and Burton Menswear are Arcadia’s brands most at risk of extinction, due to waning relevance and the redundancy of their formalwear ranges amidst the pandemic.’
Still up for grabs: Buyers still have to be found for Arcadia’s other brands, including Topshop
Arcadia collapsed into administration on 30 November, putting over 13,000 jobs at risk and becoming Britain’s biggest corporate casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic so far.
City Chic, which also specialises in plus-size women’s apparel, footwear and accessories, said ‘select employees’ will transfer to City Chic as part of the acquisition.
It said Evans was a ‘well recognised brand’ with a ‘loyal customer following’ that would allow it to expand in the UK.
The Australian firm said it plans to introduce a wider range of products and expand Evans’ wholesale partnerships.
Evans was formed in 1930 in the UK, and sells plus-size apparel and footwear. In the most recent financial year its website was visited about 19million times, and generated £23million of sales.
The wholesale business had sales of around £3million in the same period.
Sir Philip Green’s retail empire Arcadia collapsed into administration on 30 November, putting over 13,000 jobs at risk