Footwear chain Office may become the latest retailer to have supplier credit insurance pulled following the collapse of its stablemate USC.

Office, owned by Sir Tom Hunter, has posted strong trading but could still be affected by USC's fall into administration.


In the six weeks to January 4, Office generated like-for-like sales growth of 5.4 per cent and online sales soared 127 per cent compared with the previous year.


But some credit insurers are considering withdrawing suppliers' cover after taking a hit when USC hit the buffers at the end of last year.
A spokesman for Hunter said that Office maintained “excellent” relationships with its suppliers.


Office chief executive Brian McCluskey said that although the coming year would be tough he was pleased with recent trading. “I am delighted with the performance of the business over this key period, especially against the current economic backdrop,” he said.

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