Oasis and Warehouse to cease trading, 1,803 jobs lost

The Oasis and Warehouse group has been acquired from administration by former HMV owner Hilco Capital, though the group’s stores are not part of the deal, meaning 1,803 jobs have been lost.

The group’s owner, Icelandic lender Kaupthing, appointed administrators from Deloitte last month to hold talks with potential buyers.

Hilco has now agreed to buy the two brands, as well as Idle Man, and their stock, but all stores will close and they will cease to trade online.

Oasis and Warehouse currently trade from around 90 standalone stores and 437 concessions in department stores across the UK.

The news comes after the group’s CEO Hash Ladha exited the company last week after joining in 2018 when then-CEO Liz Evans left.

This isn’t the first time the chains were put up for sale. In 2017, Kaupthing was searching for a buyer for the brands but withdrew from the process with speculation that the bids were too low.

All Oasis and Warehouse stores to close

Rob Harding, joint administrator at Deloitte, said in a statement: “Covid-19 has presented extraordinary challenges which have devastated the retail industry. It is with great sadness that we have to announce a sale of the business has not been possible and that we are announcing so many redundancies today.

“This is a very difficult time for the group’s employees and other key stakeholders and we will do everything we can to support them through this.”

Sofie Willmott, lead Analyst at GlobalData, commented: “Like the Gordon Brothers’ rescue deal for Laura Ashley, investment firm Hilco’s purchase of the Oasis and Warehouse brands excludes their store portfolios, bringing yet more bad news for retail landlords that have already been hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“With the online channel accounting for almost 30% of UK clothing & footwear spend in 2019 and the shift to digital being accelerated in 2020 due to non-essential store closures, companies buying up retailers are not interested in their physical estate.”

Last year, Kaupthing sold British brands Karen Millen and Coast to British e-tailer Boohoo in a deal worth 18.2 million pounds.

Photo credit: Oasis Fashion, Facebook