Redundancy threat looms over Missguided

London - Missguided, one of the UK’s fastest growing fashion retailers, is set to axe dozens of jobs as the retailer prepares to launch a redundancy scheme in order to streamline its business.

The clicks-to-bricks fashion retailer is said to have placed 100 of it 800 jobs under review, with approximately 50 roles expected to be made redundant according to media reports. The roles at risk of being culled are understood to be in Missguided’s head office in Manchester, as well as in its offices London and Leicester.

The move comes as the fast-fashion retailer aims to balance its rapid expansion push with its overall profitability. Missguided fell into the red last December, as operating profits fell from 381,000 pounds in 2016 to 1.45 million pounds loss, despite online sale increasing 40 percent during the same period. Missguided opened its debut standalone stores last year and launched a new menswear label under the name Mennace.

“The tough market has led to sales growth that’s lower than we need it to be and our investments in margin and other costs means that missing our annual profit target is inevitable,” wrote Missguided chief executive Nitin Passi in a letter to staff, shared by the media.

“The business has doubled its number of employees in two years and as a result some teams are less lean then they need to be. This is a horrible process but it is something that we have to face into. We have to put investment into the right areas. The business has been massively focused on growth but we do need to make sure we have sustainable growth.”