Sir Philip Green is due to close the Miss Selfridge’s flagship store on London’s Oxford Street this July as the Arcadia tycoon’s business empire continues its restructure. The Arcadia Group which includes Topshop, Wallis, Dorothy Perkins, Evans and Burton, will seek creditors’ approval next week for a CVA which will help cut rent costs.
Miss Selfridge’s Oxford Street store currently employs 50 staff members and is included in the list of the 23 Arcadia stores under the CVA – amounting to about six Miss Selfridges. The flagship site will be leased to another retailer and Miss Selfridge will move into a concession in the basement of the Topshop flagship store next door.
According to Arcadia, staff will be redeployed in the new Topshop concession and it “will make every effort possible to redeploy remaining staff across other Arcadia Group locations within London”.
This follows the news which emerged last week that Green is putting the property holding companies of Miss Selfridge and its sister brand Evans into administration – resulting in 25 store closures. The businesses have combined sales of around £200 million and 107 stores.
Arcadia said that the brands will continue to expand their business by selling collections through other outlets, as well as online.
Meanwhile, staff have expressed their concerns for their future as they were not informed of the planned store closures, as well as Miss Selfridge’s head office team of 150 employees remaining in the former BHS head office under a temporary lease – expected to expire in less than a year.
