It was announced this week that high street clothing chain Quiz will close a third of its UK stores after crashing into insolvency.

A deal to save the struggling company – known for its party clothing – will reportedly see 23 out of its 65 standalone shops shut for good.

It’s one of several retailers scaling down their high street presence, often due to a rise in online shopping, high rents and people generally spending less due to the cost-of-living crisis.

But while many shoppers have lamented the loss of well-known stores such as Top Shop, Woolworths, Debenhams and Homebase in recent years, the response to Quiz’s partial demise appeared to elicit one common and rather bemused response: ‘Who are they?’

This is despite the womenswear brand having been around since 1993, with stores scattered across the country.

Numerous users on platforms such as Reddit and Facebook said they’d never heard of the retailer.

One, on Reddit wrote: ‘I’ve literally never heard of Quiz, and I’ve lived/worked all over. Clearly not a big loss, except for those who make a living working there

Another said: ‘I’ve never heard of them! Who are they? What do they even sell? Or in this case, don’t.’

Several of those who had heard of the retailer felt the designs were outdated and stuck in the noughties.

One person wrote on Facebook, ‘Nobody has shopped [there] since 2002′, while another said the clothes felt very ’00s dated’.

A third wrote: ‘Haven’t bought from them in years, their designs felt dated and the quality had gone downhill imo.’

A fourth added: ‘They were brilliant a few years ago but the quality of their material etc went down hill.’

Other posters also wrote about poor quality, and said the clothes looked much cheaper than what they cost.

A small number of people on Facebook, however, did express their disappointment over the closures, with a few saying they were ‘gutted’ to hear the news.

The 42 stores set to stay open will be bought by a subsidiary company called Orien, which is run by the founding Quiz family.

Around 200 staff employed at the stores closing down will be laid off, while those in the remaining shops – around 530 – will stay on under Orien.

Quiz is said to have struggled with a post-pandemic shift towards more casual clothing, as well as the wider high street challenges for retailers.

CEO Sheraz Ramzan said insolvency practitioners Teneo were called in due to ‘continuing challenging trading conditions impacting the group’s performance’.

New Look, meanwhile, has announced it will wind down its entire business in the Republic of Ireland due to ‘challenging market conditions’.

This means 26 stores will close, making 347 workers redundant.

Metro has contacted Quiz for a comment.

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