Tobar, which operates multichannel retailer Hawkin’s Bazaar and cataloguer Letterbox, has called in the administrators. According to a statement, corporate advisory firm Zolfo Cooper
was appointed on 30th December following “challenging trading conditions of late”. Forty permanent Hawkin’s Bazaar stores and six concessions were closed with immediate effect, resulting in the loss of more than 300 jobs. A further 35 redundancies were made at Tobar’s Suffolk head office. In a statement, administrators from Zolfo Cooper said they had received “a number of expressions of interest” with regards to a sale of some or all of the business.
Yet another retailer is on the brink of collapse. Past Times, which sells nostalgia-themed gifts, may be put into administration by its private-equity owner Epic in the new year. Epic filed a notice to appoint administrators in the High Court, which, according to reports, could see KPMG appointed administrators in the first week of January. Past Times was bought out of administration by Epic in 2005.
In more gloomy news from the high street, the joint administrators of shoe chain Barratts Priceless Group announced they were unsuccessful in finding a buyer for the concession business. The news means approximately 1,610 Barratts Priceless full- and part-time employees working in the various concessions will be made redundant. To mitigate the effect of the job losses, administrators from Deloitte said they are talking to concessionaires to see how many of the affected people they could either employ or absorb into their existing businesses. There are still active discussions for other parts of the Barratts Priceless business.
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