All of New Look’s stores across the Republic of Ireland are being shut for good after temporarily opening for closing-down sales.
The closing-down sales are ongoing, but the exact closure dates will be decided by KPMG ‘in due course’.
Just under 350 jobs are affected by the closures, which emerged after the Irish arm of the UK fashion retailer entered liquidation.
Among others, locations affected include Clonmel, Dublin, Killarney, Limerick and Newbridge.
The retailer, which first opened shops in the Republic of Ireland in 2003, blamed ‘sustained losses and challenging market conditions’ for the closures across the Republic of Ireland.
The move will not impact the division’s parent company in the UK, which will continue to trade through its 344 stores and online website.
Closing: All of New Look’s stores across the Republic of Ireland are being shut for good
New Look collections will also continue to be available through online retailers Asos and Very.
Last week, New Look Retailers Ireland Ltd sought the appointment of provisional liquidators in order to wind down its Irish arm after several years of losses.
The High Court approved the appointment of Shane McCarthy and Cormac O’Connor of KPMG Ireland as provisional liquidators over the business and its assets.
Affected New Look staff were reportedly notified immediately following the appointment of provisional liquidators.
A 30-day staff consultation process for New Look employees affected in the Republic of Ireland started in recent days.
Most of the stores were small to medium size, employing an average of around 12 to 13 staff per store.
Last month it was reported that New Look was preparing to accelerate UK planned store closures as it grapples with Labour’s Budget tax raid. Around a quarter of the firm’s 364 UK shops are at risk, The Sunday Times said.
Any closures would mark another overhaul for New Look, which has restructured its physical offering twice since 2018 when it had nearly 600 shops.
A New Look spokesperson said: ‘Over the past few years, we have had to navigate a tough external environment which has only become more unpredictable.
‘While we have adapted to this evolving landscape by investing in our product proposition and digital offer, the increasingly volatile trading conditions have meant we need to expedite our existing plans.
‘Following a review of our operations in the Republic of Ireland, we concluded it was no longer viable to continue trading so had to make the difficult but necessary decision to put the business into liquidation.
‘Our Irish business has struggled for many years due to rising costs and squeezed consumer spending, despite our efforts to turnaround the performance.
‘Our focus now is on supporting our colleagues through this process.
‘We remain confident in the UK market and take pride in offering our customers great-value, high-quality fashion.’
George Lawlor, enterprise spokesman for the Irish Labour Party, said in a statement: ‘New Look Retailers Ireland Ltd must recognise the human impact of this decision and immediately engage with workers in a meaningful and constructive manner.
‘Workers must be given clarity on redundancy terms or redeployment options. They cannot be left in limbo.’
The chain’s operations in Ireland comprise a separate entity to the UK business. For the 52 weeks to 25 March 2023, New Look posted a statutory loss before tax of £87.8million.
The retailer reportedly increased the number of its planned closures following Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget.
The move is said to have been prompted by the rise in employment costs announced by the Chancellor in October.
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