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£8.5 million Next Cath Kidston buyout will mean more job cuts

By Nagasunder in UK Business News, posted March 29, 2023

Next has paid £8.5 million for struggling home furnishing retailer Cath Kidston in a move which means a number of redundancies, administrators say.

Sky News reported clothing giant was in advanced discussions to add to its recent purchases, which include Made, the online furniture store, and Joules, the fashion company, on Monday, March 27.

Next said it had bought the brand name, domain names and intellectual property.

Administrators at Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) said the acquisition would enable the business to "flower" under Next's control.

Joint administrator Zelf Hussain said: "The company has over recent years navigated through incredibly challenging market conditions including the pandemic restrictions, and most recently the decline in consumer spending driven by cost-of-living pressures and rising costs.

"In the short term, its four stores (London, York, Ashford, Cheshire Oaks) will continue to remain open whilst operations are wound down.

"Sadly, there will be redundancies during this period of wind down and we will continue to support the staff throughout this period."

There are 125 workers at the business.

The cathkidston.com name will now be licensed back to the administrators for up to 12 weeks so stock could be cleared out in preparation for a relaunch.

It was founded in 1993 by Cath Kidston herself and quickly established itself as a high-street staple with a large number of independent stores.

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However, like a lot of retailers, its fortunes were hit by the pandemic, forcing it into insolvency around three years ago with the loss of 1,000 jobs.

Two years ago, Baring Private Equity Asia purchased it out of bankruptcy; less than a year later, Hilco obtained it.

Source: Sky News

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