Beales is latest victim of High Street blight
ONE of Britain’s oldest department store chains has crashed into administration after a bleak Christmas – putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk.
Beales, which dates back to 1881, has become the latest victim of the crisis gripping the High Street.
the failure of the 139-year-old chain comes after major retailers such as Marks & Spencer and John lewis struggled during the festive period at the end of a particularly bleak year for the sector.
Beales has been weighed down by crippling rent payments and soaring business rates, while tough competition from online rivals and falling numbers of shoppers on the High Street have also taken a toll.
In response, bosses were seeking to overhaul product ranges and shops while seeking potential buyers or investors to secure the firm’s balance sheet.
But administrators at KPMG yesterday said poor trading over Christmas had hammered the final nail into the coffin.
For now, the chain’s 23 shops will continue to trade as normal and it will also honour gift vouchers.
Its website, however, has been taken down and about 1,050 jobs are under threat as administrators look for a buyer.
KPMG’s Will Wright said: ‘With the impact of high rents and rates exacerbated by disappointing trading over the Christmas period, and extensive discussions around additional investment proving unsuccessful, there were no other available options but to place the company into administration. Over the coming weeks, we will endeavour to continue to operate all stores as a going concern while we assess options for the business.’
Bournemouth-based Beales traces its history back to the late 19th century when founder John Beale opened his Fancy Fair and Oriental House. the company listed on the london Stock Exchange in 1995, but was returned to private ownership through a management buyout in 2018.
tony Brown, the company’s boss, has previously blamed the retailer’s woes on difficult trading conditions and criticised the ‘lunacy’ of high business rates, which are collected by councils.
He accused local authorities of failing to help struggling retailers, saying they ‘really don’t care’ about High Street stores. Speaking to the BBC last week, he said: ‘We’ve only managed to get one council to help us out on a temporary basis.
‘at the moment, in my view, councils really don’t care, because they get their business rates whether we’re there or not, because the landlord pays if the store closes.’
Department stores in particular have suffered hardest from the High Street downturn. House Of Fraser fell into administration in 2018, before it was snapped up by Mike ashley’s Frasers Group, formerly Sports Direct.
Debenhams also fell into administration and was rescued by its lenders, while John lewis warned earlier this month that it may scrap its annual bonus for employees after weak Christmas sales.