The company announced it had appointed BDO Stoy Hayward as administrator last week. BDO immediately closed half of the retailer's 80 stores and laid off 120 store staff. However, it pledged to save as much of the company as possible and was then hopeful that it could save a significant portion of the remaining 370 staff.
Last week, administrator Dermot Power was scathing in his appraisal of the way the retailer had been managed. He said: 'This is an organisation where management has historically failed to address some fundamental problems. But, like a number of similar businesses, the hitherto booming economy has masked those shortcomings. Competition from Far East importers, together with evaporation of consumer confidence, has now laid bare the underlying problems very quickly.'
The administrator revealed that a number of parties, including a number of national retail chains, are interested in the business and assets of the company.
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