The future of employees at menswear retailer Aspecto hangs in the balance after JD Sports said it would close down its head office next week.
According to Drapers, the retailer – which has five stores located in Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham – is now being run by JD Sports and a consultation process is under way for a “very limited number” of staff.
While all five of its stores are still open and listed online, the Aspecto website itself has shut down and online visitors are being redirected to Tessuti‘s website instead.
JD Sports bought a 40 per cent stake of Tessutti in 2011, and in August last year, Aspecto was taken over by Tessuti buying director Michael Ashcroft and Tessuti founder David Light.
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The acquisition came after Aspecto managing director Mel Pilkington died in May 2015 from cancer.
“We can confirm that we own Aspecto,” a JD Sports spokesperson told Drapers.
“As a result, a consultation process is currently under way for a very limited number of employees.
“However, this process is ongoing and we are working to find roles across the group for as many of those affected as possible.”
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