Monsoon Accessorize will close down 141 stores as leases approach expiration in a move to decouple the two brands.
According to the Guardian, one of the UK‘s biggest high street retailers has decided to shut down its stores that are essentially the Monsoon and Accessorize brands in a single shop as their leases expire in the next five years.
With 141 stores set to be affected, the move places hundreds of jobs at risk.
While the retailer said it would open separate Monsoon and Accessorize stores in the areas currently with joint outlets, job losses were still possible.
The restructuring is part of a strategic overhaul by recently-appointed chief executive Paul Allen.
Monsoon Accessorize employs 5500 people and has over 300 stores.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette’s free daily email newsletter
The Monsoon half of the brand, which specialises in women‘s fashion, reportedly attracts older shoppers than Accessorize, which specialises in jewellery and accessories.
In addition, Monsoon has come up against fierce competition on the high street.
Monsoon Acccesorize is owned by the tycoon Peter Simon‘s company Drillgreat Limited.
The latest financial results indicate Drillgreat experienced a nine per cent drop in sales to £465 million in the year to the end of August 2015, including a five per cent drop in like-for-like sales in the UK.
The company was also hit by a pre-tax loss of £155 million.
Chief executive Allen said in the accounts that Monsoon Accessorize had a disappointing year, highlighting Monsoon‘s performance as poor thanks to unseasonable weather and stiff discounting competition by high street rivals.
It is believed this provided the motivation to decouple Monsoon Accessorize and restructure the company.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette’s free daily email newsletter
