A-Wear enters receivership: looking for viability options

Plans to keep A-Wear afloat have failed for the third time in a matter of years, putting the Irish fashion retailer into receivership. Ken Fennell of Kavanagh Fennell has been appointed as receiver and will look into ways of viability for the business.

A-wear owner Latzur Limited had been in examinership since October, aimed to find a way to make the business sustainable and to protect as many of the over 350 jobs of the company as possible.

Unfortunately, “In the intervening weeks post examinership, sales projections for the business have not materialised and no viable investment proposal was forthcoming, leaving the business with no option but to seek the appointment of a receiver,” the company said in a statement.

Reciever to assess feasibility of trading for A-Wear

As advanced by the retailer and its newly appointed receiver Kavanagh Fennell, the receiver will assess the feasibility of trading some of the stores over the coming weeks.

A-Wear has 31 retail locations in Ireland and 9 concession stores in the UK, currently employing 358 staff across both countries and head office in Dublin.

The fashion retailer will continue to trade while receiver Ken Fennell, of Kavanagh Fennell, assesses which stores can be kept open and which will cease trading, published the ‘Irish Times’.

Fennell will assess in the coming days whether customer deposits and vouchers could be honoured and what can be done in terms of selling the business. The business had been trading under examinership since early October.

"It's a great pity when big brand names that we have come to know over the years find themselves in difficulty and have to close outlets," said to RTÉ.ie Finance Minister Michael Noonan when asked about A-Wear's liquidation at an event yesterday.

The company had blamed high rents and increased competition for its difficulties. A-Wear was bought by its current owners from receivers in 2012.

While they managed to reduce the company's annual losses from 5 million pounds to 2.5 million pounds a year, they said in October that they had taken things "as far as they can".