High street fashion behemoth New Look has announced its complete withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland, putting all of its employees in the country at risk of redundancy.
The retailer's Irish division, which employs approximately 347 individuals, has initiated redundancy procedures following years of sustained losses, as reported by .
The privately-owned firm cited an increasingly unpredictable external environment as the reason for its decision to cease trading in the Republic of Ireland, according to the BBC.
"We have adapted to this evolving landscape by investing in our product proposition and digital offer. However, due to the increasingly volatile trading conditions we needed to expedite our existing plans, which included conducting a review of our operations in the Republic of Ireland," the company stated.
New Look has faced a turbulent few years, with job cuts at its head office, a reduction in total store count from 800 to 400, and a shift in focus towards online shopping.
Staff were informed immediately after the appointment of liquidators at the High Court and a 30-day staff consultation process has begun, reports suggest.
The change will reportedly not affect its parent company in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ, which will continue to trade both online and in-store.
The retail sector has been grappling with challenges for over a decade, with the shift towards online shopping being exacerbated by the aftermath of Covid-19 and high taxation.
As early as 2023, customer footfall was down by 10% compared to 2019 levels, and even lower in major cities.
According to the British Retail Consortium, retail costs are expected to rise by an additional £7bn across the industry next year due to a combination of the minimum wage increase, the packaging levy and higher national insurance costs.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has forecasted that over 200,000 retail jobs and more than 17,000 stores are set to vanish next year.
A spokesperson for New Look stated: " 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 º£½ÇÊÓƵ market and take pride in offering our customers great-value, high-quality fashion."
