At a time when many high street retailers were already struggling, the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown that came with it had a devastating impact on footfall, resulting in a number of high profile closures and a number of firms going into administration. Here are the brands which suffered most.
5. Cath Kidston
It was announced in April that Cath Kidston had appointed administrators, meaning all 60 UK stores are to close, with just a handful of the company’s 941 UK staff being retained. The brand will continue to exist online and abroad. Photo: (Photo: Shutterstock)
6. DW Sports
The sportswear and gym retailer owned by Dave Whelan announced it was going into administration in August, meaning the 73 gyms and 75 DW Sports retail stores owned by the firm will all close, and 1,700 jobs lost. Photo: (Photo: Shutterstock)
7. Oak Furnitureland
After starting out life on eBay, furniture retailer Oak Furnitureland went into administration only to be more or less immediately bought by hedge fund, Davidson Kempner Capital Management, which is likely to close some stores and reduce the number of staff. Photo: (Photo: Shutterstock
8. Go Outdoors
The UK’s main retailer of outdoor sports and activities equipment, Go Outdoors went into administration but was bought back out of it by owners JD Sports, who has said that it does not expect to see large scale redundancies and store closures from the 67 outlets and 2,400 employees. Photo: (Photo:Shutterstock)