Retail

The retail industry has undergone a significant shift, with power now firmly in the hands of consumers. Digital advancements give customers greater control, as transparency in product range and pricing erodes traditional loyalty. New channels and competitors are raising the bar on convenience, value, and customer experience, making it harder for retailers to stay profitable. Despite current disruptions, retailers understand that they must continually evolve to stay competitive, as this transformation is far from over.

To succeed, retailers need to quickly adapt to the changing landscape while maintaining a balance between legacy profitability and future growth. We support retailers in transforming their business to offer the personalised, seamless, and omni-channel experiences that shoppers now expect — in a way that ensures both profitability and sustainability.

THE BODY SHOP

Success story

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Securing a buyer for high-street brand The Body Shop

FRP is supporting The Body Shop, a well-known British cosmetics, skincare, and perfume company founded in 1976 in Brighton, on their administration. Specialist investment firm Auréa Group have bought the company out of administration in a deal that secures the immediate future for 1,300 shop and office workers.

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Newsroom

Former BHS directors found liable for wrongful trading

FRP (acting as Liquidators of the BHS Group) convinced the Court that the directors’ actions breached the threshold for Wrongful Trading. 

FRP agrees £55m sale of Debenhams brand

FRP appointed by Debenhams to conduct a ‘light touch administration’ that enabled the incumbent management team to operate the business.

FRP secures more than 400 full-time jobs in Everest deal

FRP have completed the sale of Everest out of administration in a deal that will secure more than 400 jobs in manufacturing and operations.

 

CLINTONS

FRP-led Restructuring Plan provides Clintons with future

RP has helped Esquire Retail Limited (t/a Clintons) to secure a Restructuring Plan ruling that enables the business to avoid insolvency.

 

BONMARCHE (1)

FRP appointed to clothing retailer Bonmarché

FRP were appointed administrators of Bonmarché and secured the sale, transferring 264 outlets and preserving 2,213 jobs within the new business.

TIMPSON

FRP advises In-Time on its sale to The Timpson Group

National watch and jewellery repair business In-Time sold out of administration via a pre-pack sale, saving over 100 jobs.

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Recent event

Navigating the future of retail: What's in store?

We caught up with panellists from our retail conference to explore the challenges and opportunities facing the sector. In this video, Managing Director at Estama, Eoin Conway discusses how businesses can prepare for potential disruptions from both the political and economic arenas.

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MONSOON

Success story

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FRP-led M&A deal for high street fashion chain

Monsoon Accessorize is a UK-based chain of retail stores incorporated in 1973, offering womenswear, children’s clothing and homeware gifts under the Monsoon brand. Following the M&A process, a buyer was identified and the purchase of the business and assets was completed though a credit bid of £8.5 million. 156 stores were taken over under an option arrangement which enabled the buyer to occupy those stores under licence, reducing the number of store closures and ensuring that approximately 2,000 staff were retained.

Industry insight

Managing cashflow for success

Ben Hughes, Restructuring Advisory Partner

A number of retailers are suffering from a two-pronged hit of lukewarm consumer confidence and a stubbornly high cost base. That applies equally to retailers with a bricks-and-mortar or online focus, with the latter no longer being the panacea for the sector as it was perceived to be only a few years back.

It all means that for some operators, managing cashflow is significantly tougher than it was even just a year ago. So, our workshop will cover some of the practical steps that retailers can take to enhance their cashflow and extend the runway if they are facing a short to medium term liquidity event.

Ultimately, however, pursuing a sale of the business may turn out to be the optimal route for the business given its circumstances. And, with this in mind, we’ll also discuss current valuation and M&A trends along with tips on how to maximise value when going to market. To this end, we have identified key value drivers for retailers to focus on when seeking new investment.

WIGGLE (1)

Success story

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FRP-led trading administration for UK's largest cycling retailer

Wiggle is the UK's largest online sports retailer, selling triathlon equipment, bicycles, components and accessories. FRP led the trading administration to the Frasers Group. The group adds to its existing cycling companies, including Evans Cycles.

Industry insight

Evolving risk

Molly Sandquest, Forensic Services Director

When we think about crime in the retail space, it’s more often than not shoplifting or ‘shrinkage’ that comes to mind.

However, while recorded shoplifting offences reached a peak earlier this year, it’s another age-old risk, fraud, that retailers will need to shift their focus to following the recent introduction of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA). 

The assent of the ECCTA bill last October has significantly shifted the risk burden associated with fraud and, unlike cases of shoplifting, the courts are less likely to see retailers as the victim. I talked in depth about the implications of ECCTA in a recent series of articles, which you can revisit here.

Most interesting is the new offence of ‘failure to prevent fraud’. Under this, an organisation will be liable where fraud is committed for the benefit of an organisation (directly or indirectly) by an associated person acting for or on behalf of the business. The penalties can only be mitigated if the organisation has ‘reasonable’ fraud prevention procedures in place. Crucially, the leadership of the company does not need to have orchestrated, or even to have known about, the fraud for it to be held liable.

As such, counter-fraud controls are now just as much about protection as prevention.

As part of our FRP Retail Conference 2024 workshop, we delved into the psychology of fraud and the structure of an effective counter-fraud programme.

With valuable legal input from Harriet Campbell, Senior Associate at DLA Piper, we discussed practical examples to demonstrate where risks may lie within retail operations – from unethical labour practices, corporate espionage, customer intelligence, and counterfeit products to misleading information.

With the retail sector facing significant financial challenges and ECCTA now increasing brands’ exposure to risk, fraud prevention has never been more important. Investment to prevent theft on the shop floor has long been a major focus. It’s now time for white-collar fraud issues to receive the same level of attention.

DEBENHAMS (1)

Success story

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FRP secures web sale in Debenhams administration

Debenhams is an iconic UK retail brand with an international footprint, extensive high street and shopping centre presence and significant online sales turnover. The company could trace its UK retail roots back almost 250 years, but more recently it had faced tough trading conditions, and had successfully survived an insolvency and pre-pack sale in 2019. FRP agreed the cash deal for the Debenhams brand and certain assets with boohoo group plc in 2021.

Retail credentials

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Insights from experts

Article

Spring Budget 2024: Retail predictions

Retailers will be closely watching the Spring Budget on Wednesday, hoping that the Chancellor has something special in store for them. The sector is coming out of what was a difficult 2023 into a first quarter that’s shown some reasons for optimism – the latest ONS’s retail sales data showed January brought the largest monthly rise in sales volumes since April 2021.

 

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Harnessing retail resilience

The global shopping phenomenon of Black Friday and Cyber Monday have transfixed consumers across the globe in recent years. With headline-grabbing promises of discounted goods and product-specific deals, the herculean retail events have grown to fulfil the needs of the most discerning shopper.

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A fifth of UK retailers fear insolvency amid energy crisis

Having advised on the administration of high-profile retailers including Debenhams and Edinburgh Woollen Mill, our breadth of experience in the sector led us to poll 250 large and mid-sized retailers across the UK – with the findings presenting significant concerns.

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After the end of the golden quarter, what’s next for retail?

The past few weeks have seen a flurry of retail trading updates, with many brands posting strong revenues, and unveiling plans for new growth. However, despite this growth – the latest ONS retail trading figures revealed that, while sales values rose in December, sales volumes fell for the ninth consecutive month.