The UK retail industry suffered one of the harshest blows yet after two of the country’s best-known retailers collapsed, putting 25,000 jobs at risk in less than 24 hours.
Debenhams said Tuesday morning it’s preparing to close its doors for good after failing to find a buyer. Late Monday last week, Arcadia Group, the retail empire of billionaire Sir Philip Green, which owns brands including Topshop, Topman, Burton, Wallis, and Dorothy Perkins, began insolvency proceedings.
It looks like a sad end for Debenhams, which can trace its history back to 1778, when William Clark set up a store in London’s West End selling fabrics, bonnets, gloves and parasols. In 1813 William Debenham invested in the firm, which became Clark & Debenham. By 1950, the renamed Debenhams was one of the largest department store groups in the UK.
Photo: Bloomberg 照片：彭博社
Both retailers have anchored malls and main streets across Britain for decades and operate about 600 stores combined.
Retail experts said the pandemic and the associated restrictions only tell part of the problems that the companies have encountered. Both have struggled to respond to the increased competition from low-cost rivals like Primark, as well as from online disruptors such as ASOS and Boohoo.
The industry is set to lose 235,000 retail jobs this year, according to the Centre for Retail Research.
Photo: EPA-EFE 照片：歐新社
(Bloomberg and AP)
英國兩家最知名的零售商在不到二十四小時內倒閉，兩萬五千個工作可能不保，這是英國零售業所遭受最嚴峻的打擊之一。
德本納（Debenhams）百貨公司上週二早上表示，由於無法尋得買主，該公司正準備永久停業。上週一稍晚，億萬富豪菲利普‧葛林爵士的零售帝國「阿卡迪亞集團」開始進行破產程序，該集團旗下有Topshop、Topman、Burton、Wallis及Dorothy Perkins等品牌。
德本納百貨看來將落入這悲慘結局。該公司之歷史可追溯到一七七八年，威廉‧克拉克在倫敦西區所開設的一家販賣布料、帽子、手套及陽傘的商店。一八一三年，威廉‧德本納投資了該公司，將其更名為「克拉克與德本納」（Clark & Debenham）。到了一九五○年，更名為德本納的該公司已成為英國最大的百貨公司集團之一。
阿卡迪亞集團及德本納這兩家零售商，數十年來在英國各地的大型購物中心及主要街道佔據了重要地位，經營約六百家店。
零售專家說，疫情及相關禁令只是這兩家公司所遭遇問題的一部分。兩家公司都面臨低成本競爭對手（如Primark）及顛覆市場之網路商家（如ASOS和Boohoo）日益激烈的競爭，且疲於應付。
根據「零售研究中心」的數據，今年零售業將有二十三萬五千個工作被裁。
（台北時報林俐凱編譯）
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