Young fashion brand Henleys has shut its 18 stores blaming poor trading and difficult leases for its demise. Its wholesale business is unaffected.
Tom Jack and Simon Allport of Ernst & Young have been appointed joint administrators of Henleys’ retail subsidiary, Henley’s Retail.
Henleys had 15 standalone and three outlets operating under the Henley’s Retail company. As a result of the closures, 58 full-time and 130 part-time shop staff, as well as 16 warehouse and support staff, will be made redundant.
The brand will continue to be sold online and through its 260 wholesale stockists.
Henleys chief executive David Inglis said: “Unfortunately, the retail side of the business has been suffering from poor trading conditions due to fragile consumer confidence and from onerous leases agreed at the height of the market.”
He added: “When I joined Henley’s Clothing last year, my remit was to carry out a strategic review of the company and as a result we have decided to focus the business on its main wholesale operation.
“In addition to the continuing growth of online sales, the wholesale side of the business is seeing expansion overseas, specifically from Australia, Canada and mainland Europe. We are also investing significantly in a brand re-launch in July.”
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