845 jobs go as concessions close

MORE than 800 job losses have been announced at the owner of failed fashion firm Jacques Vert.

Administrators said they were closing the group’s remaining 91 in-store concession outlets with around 500 redundancies.

It comes after last month’s decision to shut an initial 102 outlets with the loss of 445 jobs.

Of the latest wave of closures, 54 of the concessions are in Debenhams, which is also battling to survive.

As well as shop workers, around 90 head office and distribution jobs are to go.

Calvetron Brands, which owns the Jacques Vert and Precis names, went into administration in May.

The firm dates back to 1972 when Jack Cynamon and Alan Green, two tailors from the East End of London, founded the business. In 1977 they created a fashion range that combined their names and added a French twist, creating the Jacques Vert brand. It merged with the Irisa group to become the Jacques Vert Group in 2012, and in June 2016 changed its name to Style Group Brands. In June 2017 SGB went into administration and was sold on. Benjamin Wiles, of administrators Duff & Phelps, said: “Calvetron Brands has faced the perfect storm of extremely difficult trading conditions on the high street, rising costs and low customer confidence, all of which hindered our ability to secure a buyer.”