04-24-2009, 10:32 AM
|
|
Administrator
|
|
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 94
|
|
Bay Trading go into Administration!!
Bay Trading which is owned by the Alexon Group has gone into administration.
Deloitte are set to be appointed as administrators of Epcoscan, which trades as Bay Trading and which is a separate company to Alexon. Alexon’s other brands remain profitable and are unaffected by the move.
Deloitte will continue to trade Bay Trading while it searches for a buyer for the young fashion chain.
Alexon posted its full year results earlier this week which showed that Bay Trading had racked up losses of £7.2 million in the 53 weeks to January 31. This was against a profit of £1.1 million the year before. Like-for-like sales were down 16% over the year and margin 1.1 percentage points lower.“Management continue to implement their turnaround plan and are confident that trading in the core Alexon Brands will remain robust and the initiatives that have already been put in place will enhance progress. The administration of Epcoscan allows management to focus on the core brands.”
The Alexon Group as a whole saw pre-tax profits fall 79% to £3.5m over the year. Total sales fell 4.5% to £250.3m. Its results were badly hit by the poor performance of the Bay Trading chain.
Alexon chief executive Jane McNally, who joined the group last year, had been in the middle of a turnaround of the Bay Trading chain. She had begun a repositioning, making the ranges more fashionable to move Bay Trading away from the value operators.
McNally will continue to reposition other brands within the Alexon portfolio following the administration of Bay Trading. Ann Harvey has already been given an overhaul for spring.
Alexon said in a statement:
“Management continue to implement their turnaround plan and are confident that trading in the core Alexon Brands will remain robust and the initiatives that have already been put in place will enhance progress. The administration of Epcoscan allows management to focus on the core brands.”
|
Linear Mode
