Morgan closes with 600 facing redundancy

Administrators from KPMG Restructuring have been called in at the UK division of high street fashion brand Morgan which has been forced to close 19 stand-alone stores and 47 department store concessions.
KPMG’s David Crawshaw and Myles Halley were today appointed administrators at Morgan UK after the withdrawal by Morgan SA, of its distribution agreement in the UK.
Crawshaw said: ‘Morgan has suffered from difficult trading conditions on the high street. Trading for the first six months of the financial year to June has been poor with like-for-like sales down 19.1% to £11.8 million.’
He said that because of this and subsequent losses, the company faced an increased funding requirement to pay wages, landlords and creditors.
Crashaw said KPMG was forced to wind down the business with approximately 600 staff made redundant.

30 June 2006

Morgan favours French roots

High street fashion chain Morgan is going back to its roots for autumn. It’s French roots, that is. The group has revamped its autumn collection to place more emphasis on sophisticated fashion. Morgan’s chief executive Simon Bentley stated: We can’t compete on price so we have to shout louder about our niche.”
Key pieces from Morgan’s autumn collection include a ruffle front high-neck blouse, a maxi military coat and a cable-knit jumper dress.
The young fashion retailer is also rolling out a refurbishment programme to refresh stores ahead of more openings. Its Brent Cross and Trafford Centre shop have recently been treated to the new look and Bentley said more refurbishments would follow by the end of the year.

Morgan recently opened a store in York and a Debenhams concession in Oxford. Three of four more concessions will open in Debenhams this year.
Bentley said the company was on the lookout for more stores of between 1,400 sq ft and 1,600 sq ft and that the young fashion retailer was considering introducing a transactional website.
Morgan has about 20 company-owned stores, 45 franchise stores and 45 concessions in department stores including Debenhams and House of Fraser in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

6 June 2006