Manchester fast fashion etailer Boohoo is to make redundancies in its London office, with around 100 roles believed to be under threat.
The jobs are believed to be connected with the former Arcadia brands it acquired when they entered administration in 2021 –Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis – and cover the ecommerce, buying, and design departments.
Boohoo reportedly plans to move teams from the three brands under the Debenhams.com umbrella along with other brands including Karen Millen and Oasis, although it has denied claims that it is to merge the brands, insisting they will retain their “distinct identities” following an “organisational restructure.” It added that a consultation was still underway and no final decision has been made about the number of jobs to be cut.
A spokesperson for Boohoo Group said: “As a British retailer, we are proud to have secured the future of some of our industry’s most recognised brands, strategically accelerating our ambition to be a leader, not just in fashion eCommerce, but in new categories including beauty, sport and homeware. To ensure long term, sustainable growth of our brands we have taken the difficult but necessary decision to consider a proposal to reduce the number of roles in specific areas of the business.
“Our people teams will be supporting those potentially affected. We are committed to our portfolio and believe that all of our brands have a significant role in the ongoing success of the group and are maximising their individual potential for growth.”
In common with many online brands, Boohoo has faced a challenging time recently, since the heady days of record lockdown sales. The company confirmed in December that it was to close its Wellingborough distribution hub.
In the same month the three Arcadia acquisitions along with Debenhams – another former Arcadia brand that was de-mergered from the main group in 1998, while remaining closely affiliated through in-store franchises – reported losses of around £34.9m for the year to end of Feb 2022, although Debenham’s loss of £11.7m was for the slightly longer period of January 14, 2021 to February 28, 2022.
