Philip Green’s Miss Selfridge posts £17.5m loss as sales slump
Sir Philip Green’s Miss Selfridge chain fell to a loss of £17.5m last year as the retailer suffered a decline in sales and a writedown in the value of loss-making stores.
The womenswear chain booked sales of £102m in the year to 1 September 2018, down more than 15 per cent on the previous 12 months, while pre-tax loss ballooned from £4.2m to £17.5m.
The loss was driven by more than £12m in exceptional costs from writedowns in property value and restructuring costs.
Miss Selfridge has earmarked at least six branches for closure, including its flagship Oxford Street store, and laid off hundreds of staff members as it battles declining high street footfall and tough competition from online rivals.
The cost-cutting plan is part of a wider restructuring strategy for Green’s Arcadia group, whose company voluntary arrangement (CVA) plans were narrowly approved by creditors in June.
Earlier this month Arcadia revealed a huge operating loss of £138m for 2018, compared to the £119m operating profit reported in 2017.
The group’s three-year CVA plan involves the closure of 23 stores and rent reductions at nearly 200 others, and will see Arcadia receive £50m from its creditors.
However, Green’s empire has denied it is planning to sell off its brands in a bid to survive, insisting it was focused on delivering its rescue plan.
Main image credit: Getty