Shoe chain losing foothold

Retail: Brantano collapse into administration risks 70 Scottish jobs

Nearly 70 Scottish jobs are under threat, including 11 in Inverness and nine in Inverurie, after footwear retailer Brantano collapsed into administration yesterday.

More than 1,000 workers across the UK are at risk of redundancy, with professional services giant PwC warning job losses are “inevitable”.

Brantano, owned by private-equity firm Alteri, has struggled following the Brexit-induced collapse in the value of the pound as well as experiencing difficult trading conditions.

It employs 1,086 people across 73 stores and 64 concessions throughout the UK. The retailer’s seven Scottish sites include an outlet at Inshes Retail Park, Inverness, and one at Inverurie Retail Park

PwC said “sustained efforts and streamlining” to make the business more commercially viable and an attempted sale had failed.

Lead administrator Tony Barrell added: “Like many other retailers, Brantano has also been hit hard by the sharp decline in sterling, the ongoing shift in consumer shopping habits and the evolution of the UK retail environment.”

PwC will keep the shops open while “assessing the trading strategy and any interest in parts of the business over the coming days and weeks”.

Staff will be paid their arrears of wages and salaries, and continue to be paid for their work while the business is in administration, the accountancy giant added.

Reports suggest Shoe Zone and Edinburgh Woollen Mill, the retail group run by the billionaire Philip Day, have both expressed

“Has also been hit hard by the sharp decline in sterling”

an interest in parts of the business.

Meanwhile, property and retail group Kiltane said has completed the purchase of four remaining Ness Clothing outlets – in York, Keswick and two in Edinburgh – and the firm’s wholesale and e-commerce divisions out of administration, saving 35 jobs. Edinburgh-based Ness had 10 stores in Scotland, five in England, plus four concessions before it went under in December. Branches in Aberdeen, Inverness, Dundee, Glasgow, Livingston, Cambridge, Bath and Ilkley shut this year.

THREAT: Footwear retailer Brantano has seven outlets in Scotland, including Inverness and Inverurie