Ford Displays A Wreck To Score Safety Points Ford is desperate to re-establish itself with consumers who defected to Asian and European nameplates.... Read Full Article Pension Funds Seek A Direct Line To The Private Equity Bonanza Pension funds more than doubled direct investments in private equity deals last year as they struggled to generate the profits needed to support an ageing workforce in the face of declining public equ... Read Full Article Jazz At Lincoln Center Unveils New Season Jazz at Lincoln Center has announced its 2008-9 program, with what it calls its biggest season ever: more than 3,000 events.... Read Full Article Bear Stearns Cuts 4 Percent Of Staff The company will cut 650 jobs in all departments from its staff of about 15,500. This marks the third wave of recent layoffs at the battered investment bank.... Read Full Article Prominent In Hong Kong And, Perhaps, In The Dow Jones Inquiry David K. P. Li, an aristocratic banker in Hong Kong, is expected to be questioned about a possible insider-trading case involving shares of Dow Jones.... Read Full Article |
Book Chain The Works Becomes Latest Victim In Story Of Horror On High StreetAbout 1,600 jobs are under threat after The Works, the cut-price book chain, was forced into adminstration yesterday, a move that added to fears of more failures on the high street. Kroll, the restructuring firm, said that it had been appointed to run The Works 317 stores in the UK after HSBC, its banker, pulled the plug. The retailer is understood to have run up debts of more than £20 million amid fierce competition from Waterstones and WH Smith. Tim Brookes, chairman of The Works, said a month ago that he was “horribly pessimistic” about the prospects for the high street in 2008. Two weeks ago Dolcis, the shoe retailer, went into administration and Stead & Simpson, its rival, was rescued by Shoe Zone on Monday. &&&§ionName=IndustrySectorsRetailing,mywindow,menubar=0,resizable=0,width=615,height=655); Related Links Reign of the contrary consumer A rate cut is unlikely to take the pain away from the retail sector Rising profit warnings spark high street fearsThere were also rumours yesterday that Floors2Go, the retailer, had laid off 90 staff after poor sales. Peter Saville, partner at Kroll, said that he was confident of finding a buyer for The Works and that, in the meantime, it was “business as usual”. He said: “These stores have a strong brand and are predominantly in excellent locations. Although the retail sector will face some challenges in the coming months, there are plenty of opportunities to succeed and as such we are very hopeful of securing the future of the business.” Experts said that the move reflected the intense pressure on middle-market retailers, that other chains were close to collapse and that private equity firms appeared to be cutting their losses and walking away from investments rather than refinancing. Hermes Private Equity funded a £50 million management buyout at The Works three years ago, while Dolcis repaid a £900,000 loan from Epic Private Equity, its owner, five days before it fell into administration. An industry insider said: “I think the pace of administrations is going to pick up. Dolcis, Stead & Simpson, The Works - these are all fairly non-distinguished chains at the low end of the middle market and the middle market doesnt really exist any more. “This should be a wake-up call for retailers with a very ill-defined value proposition, and even people like Woolworths.” The book sector was one of the first to be affected by the internet and the rise of Amazon. In the past two years the biggest chains have invested millions in beefing up their online presence, putting the squeeze on smaller rivals. The Times revealed yesterday that Asda was about to embark on the largest expansion of its internet operation to achieve a fivefold increase in online sales to £1 billion by 2011. Fears over the health of The Works emerged last summer when Derek Hine, its chief executive, and Andrew Walker-Smith, the retail operations director, resigned. Mr Brookes revealed his concern in an interview in December in Retail Week, the industry magazine. He said: “Consumers are really worried this year - footfall is down. I am horribly pessimistic for next year.” Tag CloudExternal InformationAdditional InformationJob Cuts at McGraw-Hill Will Eliminate 3% of Staff...Teleconferencing as Plan A, With Flying as a Backup... MasterCard Wins Ruling Against Visa on Debit Fee... OPEC’s Tough Call: Raise or Hold Oil Supply... Where Am I?News Main Page - Business - Book Chain The Works Becomes Latest Victim In Story Of Horror On High Street |
i8news.com |