Shoe retailer Clarks calls in consultants amid store closure fears
Struggling footwear retailer Clarks has called in management consultants to conduct a review of the business.
The family-owned business, which this month reported an £82.9m loss after tax for last year, has reportedly hired McKinsey & Co as it plots a restructuring plan amid fears of store closures.
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The high street shoe chain said it had taken a £50m hit on the value of its property in the UK and the US, prompting a “fundamental and comprehensive review of its property portfolio”.
In its full-year results Clarks said it is “preparing to take rapid actions to exit the worst-performing sites in as short a timescale as possible”.
The company cited an inability to keep up with the shift to online shopping, challenging trading conditions in the UK and US, the complexity of its operating model and increasing overheads as factors that have contributed to its decline.
Turnover in the year ended 2 February was £1.46bn down from £1.53bn the previous year.
The move to hire consultants, which was reported by the Sunday Times, comes after several well-known high street brands have closed stores in the tough UK retail market.
Major UK chains have closed almost 6,000 stores so far this year, according to a study by the Centre for Retail Research.
In total 708 stores were closed due to administration, and 4793 were shut down as part of cost-cutting programmes.
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Jack Wills, Patisserie Valerie and Karen Millen are among the well-known high street retailers to shutter stores so far this year.
Mothercare recently announced all of its 79 UK stores will close, putting thousands of jobs at risk, after deciding its UK retail arm was not profitable.
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