Losses mount at Miss Selfridge as business eyes online market

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Sep 30, 2019

Arcadia’s young fashion label Miss Selfridge saw losses widen to £17.5 million last year after it was forced to write down the value of loss-making stores.

The brand also suffered a decline in sales, with revenues sliding 15% to £102 million in the year to 1 September 2018.

Pre-tax losses widened from £4.3 million a year before, as the company booked more than £12 million in one-off costs, including several property writedowns and redundancies.

Miss Selfridge, which closed its former flagship store on Oxford Street in July, has earmarked several branches for closure and laid off hundreds of staff members.

The restructuring is part of a wider strategy being led by parent owner Arcadia in a bid to save its loss-making retail portfolio. Last year, the group swung to a £177.3 million loss, and admitted there was “material uncertainty” about its ability to continue trading without new funds.

Arcadia Group also manages Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins and Burton.

The latest results reveal why Arcadia is planning to transform the Miss Selfridge brand into an online retailer with only a few physical stores. Arcadia has said the brand aimed at young shoppers will mainly sell online in the future.

A three-year company voluntary agreement (CVA) plan secured by Arcadia earlier this year will see the retail empire close about 50 stores, shed 1,000 jobs and cut rents by up to 50%.