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Quiz has confirmed it has called in administrators, in a move that will result in the closure of 23 “loss-making or unsustainable” stores amid ongoing trading challenges for the group.According to Sky News, the move will result in the loss of around 200 jobs following the closures.
Advisory firm Teneo was appointed as administrator to the group’s wholly owned subsidiary, Zandra Retail, which operates Quiz’s standalone UK and Ireland retail stores.
The company’s board said the move aims to put the business in a “more sustainable position in the context of continuing challenging trading conditions negatively impacting the group’s performance”.
Orion Retail Limited, a subsidiary of the company owned by the founding Ramzan family, will immediately acquire certain assets of Zandra, including the right to occupy and continue to trade from 42 Zandra-operated stores.
Quiz noted this will “preserve the majority of the group’s retail employees”.
Quiz’s online business, concessions and international operations are operated by other subsidiaries and so are unaffected.
Sheraz Ramzan, CEO of Quiz, said: “The board took the difficult decision to appoint administrators to Zandra Retail Limited in light of the continuing challenging trading conditions impacting the group’s performance.
“We are deeply sorry to those affected by the store closures, including our retail colleagues. However, this decision will put the business on a more sustainable footing for the future and protect several hundred jobs as a result.”
Last month, Quiz announced its shareholders had approved its decision to delist from AIM and secure its return to private ownership. The decision to delist the retailer came at the end of December as a result of financial difficulties.
At that time, Quiz stated that the considerable cost, management time and the legal and regulatory burden associated with maintaining the company’s admission to trading on AIM as one of the reasons behind the move.
The retailer also believed it was more “appropriate and practical” to undergo any changes to its cost base as a private limited company without the constraints of announcement obligations and significant confidentiality constraints.
In the latest financial statement, Quiz revealed that as a result of the challenging trading environment, revenues in December continued to “fall short of management’s expectations and have not compensated for the shortfall in revenues experienced in November”.
