Fresh from entering into administration, Jaeger has now announced it would close down 20 of its stores and axe 209 jobs.
The store closures are almost half of Jaeger‘s 46-store estate and the job redundancies will mean 32 job losses in head office, 12 at the distribution centre and 165 shop staff roles.
Before the collapse, the 133-year-old retailer employed around 700 people around the UK.
Peter Saville, Ryan Grant, and Catherine Williamson of AlixPartners were appointed joint administrators of Jaeger on April 10, after the fashion retailer failed to secure a buyer to save the business.
The administrators underwent consultation and decided to shut down 20 of Jaeger‘s stores due to their operating costs not being viable.
READ MORE: Jaeger enters administration as selling process fails
The stores in the firing line are located in Amersham, Belfast, Beverley, Cambridge, Cheshire Oaks, Chester, Chichester, Edinburgh, Guildford, Henley, Oxford, Ringwood, Stratford upon Avon, Truro, Wilmslow, Winchester and Windsor, and two in London‘s Canary Wharf.
Last month, Jaeger‘s now-former owner, private equity firm Better Capital, offloaded the chain‘s debt instruments to mystery buyer – thought to be Edinburgh Woollen Mill – at a “disappointing” £23 million write-down.
Better Capital had bought the company in 2012 for £30 million and failed to turn around falling sales as competition from fast fashion high street chains ate into its market share.
Jaeger has won the praise of many key figures since its inception in 1884, including the Duchess of Cambridge and celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Twiggy.
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