Joules makes senior team redundancies following administration

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Embattled fashion brand Joules has made several senior directors redundant, just a week after it collapsed into administration.

In an internal memo seen by Retail Week, Joules said channels director Rimal Patel and brand and creative director Chloe Ward had both left the business yesterday, and chief financial officer Caroline York is set to leave the business on Thursday “following a short handover”.

Alongside Patel and York’s redundancies, Joules said 11 other staff were made redundant on Monday, with notice given to a further six contractors who will leave between now and mid-December.

A spokesperson for the administrators said: “While we continue to trade the business as a going concern, it is with regret that the joint administrators can confirm that a limited number of redundancies have been made at the company’s head office. A wider consultation process for employees remains ongoing, as is typical during an administration process.

“We continue to explore the significant number of expressions of interest that we have received since our appointment, and remain optimistic about securing a future for the business.”

The news comes just a week after the brand collapsed into administration after its board failed to find a buyer.

Founder and product director Tom Joule had also been in talks to secure a cash lifeline after entering “advanced discussions with a number of strategic investors”, though these came to nothing.

Administrators Interpath Advisory said last week: “We have had an overwhelming amount of interest from interested parties. We will be working hard over the days ahead to assess this interest but at this stage, we are optimistic that we will be able to secure a future for this great British brand.”

Some of the names that have been reported to be interested include The Foschini Group and Marks & Spencer.