Blue Inc calls administrators in for A.Levy & Sons and announces restructuring

Blue Inc, has filed a notice at the High Court to appoint Leonard Curtis as administrators to A.Levy & Son Limited, one of its subsidiaries. Additionally, the British retail group has announced its restructuring plans.

The company has filed a notice at the High Court to appoint Leonard Curtis as administrators to A.Levy & Son Limited. Blue Inc. is planning to close a quarter of its stores, concisely 60 to 65 of its 232 selling points.

By placing the subsidiary into administration, Blue Inc could be able to drop its commitment to the leases on the stores through a pre-pack administration deal. This would involve Blue Inc buying back leases on the stores that it wants to keep, explains a source close to the matter quoted by the ‘Guardian’.

Blue Inc runs 240 stores for its namesake brand, as well as owns Officers Club, a menswear chain.

The company planned to float on the stock market in 2014 but eventually scrapped its plans. This led to Rose, the former boss of Marks & Spencer, leaving as chairman.

Steven Cohen, the chief executive of Blue Inc, explained in an interview with trade local media that “Given the strength of online and the changing environment on the high street we decided now was the right time to evaluate the store portfolio.”“Other competitor action and failures have created a challenging environment, he further added.”

In the same line, Cohen said that Christmas trading had been tough, despite Blue Inc stating that like-for-like sales had grown by percent.

said: “It was highly promotional, we had to engage in promotional activity to grow sales. The unseasonably warm weather wasn’t helpful. There was also a bit of caution due to the Paris attacks, especially affecting the larger retail malls and destinations.”