Japanese retailer Muji has filed for administration with a pre-pack deal understood to be in the offing.
The retailer’s UK stores – which include six in London and one in Birmingham – are expected to be retained when the firm’s European holding company undergoes a pre-pack administration.
Muji told TheBusinessDesk.com: “This is part of a planned strategic restructuring of the business and Muji’s management expect to conclude a deal shortly.
“For Muji’s colleagues and customers in Europe it is business as usual – all stores and ecommerce will continue to operate as before, and all new and outstanding orders will be fulfilled.”
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As well as its UK stores, its European holding company also has shops in Finland, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Denmark, as well as franchise stores in Ireland and Poland.
Muji, which sells clothing, stationery, furniture and homewares with a minimalist aesthetic, launched a 20% off everything sale online today, branded as “Muji week”.
The retailer’s accounts are seven months overdue. In its last accounts, which were published more than two years ago, showed a £15m loss for the lockdown-affected year to August 2021.
Its administration comes on the back of Ted Baker’s collapse last week. No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL) – which licenses the brand in the UK and Europe from Authentic Brands Group (ABG) – filed a notice to appoint Teneo Financial Advisory to lead an insolvency process of its UK operations.
The move, which is expected to lead to store closures and job losses, comes around 18 months after ABG bought the fashion chain for £211m.
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