THE Scottish retailer sector has suffered another blow, it was confirmed yesterday.
Clothing chain M&Co has appointed an administrator as it collapsed for a second time in just over two years.
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
Why? Free to subscribe, no paywall, daily business news digest.
Financial advisory firm Teneo confirmed it had been brought in on Friday.
The Renfrewshire-based company, which used to be known as Mackays, is one of Scotland’s best known clothing chains. It currently employs 1,910 staff with 170 shops across the UK.
The seven outlets in the north-east include Buckie, Banff, Peterhead, Inverurie and Stonehaven.
The business last collapsed in 2020, but assets were immediately bought back by the family that built it up.
M&Co had already slimmed down considerably since that last administration.
In the last week the retailer shut two stores in Dorchester in Dorset and Droitwich in Worcestershire.
Teneo said no immediate redundancies have been made.
M&Co will continue to trade while administrators explore a potential sale of the business, the firm added.
Gavin Park, one of the joint administrators, told the BBC that M&Co had experienced a sharp rise in costs like many other retailers which had coincided with a “decline in consumer confidence”.
He added: “Despite a very-loyal customer base, particularly in local markets, and a well-recognised brand, the current economic outlook has placed increasing pressure on the company’s cash position.”
Nearly 400 jobs went in August 2020 when M&C last went into administration.
The company said then that the focus of cuts would be on UK towns and suburbs rather than city centres.
A total of 47 shops closed, with 215 remaining open. According to the administrator at that time, Deloitte, the deal meant about 2,600 jobs could be retained.
It said the company, in common with other retailers, had faced a number of difficulties and coronavirus made these worse.
