Promenade store to close as clothing brand enters administration

» A MAJOR store in Cheltenham has said they will be closing in the near future after the brand entered administration.

British women’s clothing retailer Karen Millen is set to close along with the fashion chain Coast.

The brands, which have more than 200 UK outlets including concessions, will close putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk.

The fashion chain’s online business has been bought out of administration by online retailer Boohoo for £18m.

Administrators at Deloitte said stores would only remain open for a short time while stock was sold.

Customers at the store in the Promenade have been told the store ‘will be closing within a month to two months.’

It is understood the Coast concessions inside Cavendish House may also close.

Joint administrator Rob Harding said: “As we continue to see, the retail trading environment in the UK remains extremely challenging.

“Karen Millen has been seeking to address the financial challenges that it faced by pursuing a sale of the business and, whilst a sale of the whole business has not been deliverable, the Boohoo transaction facilitates the survival of these iconic British brands through an online platform.”

The struggling fashion chain posted a loss of £5.7m in 2018, however Boohoo see their new acquisition as a ‘milestone in the group’s growth story’ and are key to attract a new audience of customers.

Boohoo chief executive John Lyttle said: “The acquisition of the online business of two great and renowned British brands in Karen Millen and Coast represents another milestone in the group’s growth story as it continues to invest in its scalable multi-brand platform and gain further share in the global fashion e-commerce market.”