Today’s news in brief-29/4/24
Ted Baker’s European operations are on the brink of administration, endangering 149 jobs. The potential collapse affects stores and concessions in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain. This development follows the appointment of restructuring firm Teneo as administrator of Ted Baker by its owner, Authentic Brands Group, after a £210m acquisition in 2022. The company’s recent brand licensing partnership in Europe was abandoned in January 2024 .
Sir Dickson Poon, owner of Harvey Nichols, plans to invest an additional £7m in the retail group, following a recent £25.5m injection. Poon aims to steer the department store away from financial difficulty, having already invested a total of £106m since acquiring it in 1991. Harvey Nichols reported reduced losses and increased sales for the year ending April 2023 and recently appointed a new CEO, Julia Goddard .
Monsoon Accessorize experienced an 18% drop in EBITDA (£20m) for the year ending August 2023 due to challenging trading conditions exacerbated by the cost of living crisis and unseasonable weather. Group sales for Adena Brands (parent company) declined by 4% to £248m. Notably, Accessorize saw a sales increase of 11% in the UK. The company attributed additional costs to factors such as the National Living Wage increase and energy price hikes .
Global investment firm L Catterton has acquired a majority stake in Italian beauty brand Kiko Milano from the founding Percassi family. Kiko, founded in 1997, recorded net revenue of €800m in 2023 with nearly 20% year-over-year growth. The Percassi family will retain a significant stake in the company. L Catterton plans to leverage its experience in the cosmetics sector to accelerate Kiko’s global expansion .
Ron McMillan, chair of N Brown, is retiring from the board after 11 years for personal reasons. Steve Johnson will serve as interim executive chair and CEO until a permanent chair is appointed. The company is actively seeking a new chair and independent non-executive director. Meg Lustman will assume interim responsibilities until permanent appointments are made .
Lidl GB announced a £500m investment in the British pork sector to support the production of high-quality British products amid sector challenges like rising costs and supply chain disruptions. This investment includes transitioning to an open-book producer costing model, enhancing animal welfare, and reducing carbon emissions. Lidl’s initiative aims to ensure the resilience of the pork sector and support rural communities .
