Administrators from Deloitte have said that 16 Office Outlet stores will be shuttered this month and that this will result in 161 redundancies. Office Outlet, was formed following the acquisition of the UK Staples retail chain of office supplies stores by Hilco in 2016 which were then acquired in a management buyout led by CEO Chris Yates in 2018 complete with its 1200 employees employed across its 90 stores, head office and distribution centre. For clarity, the Staples online retailing business is a completely separate operation with no connection to Office Outlet.
“Over the last two years the business has been transformed from the heavily loss-making old Staples business to a near break even modern multichannel retailer,” commented CEO Chris Yates, Adding: “However additional growth capital was required to continue delivery of the next stage of the management buyout business plan. Despite being highly impressed by the Office Outlet story potential investors have hed back due to retail sector sentiment and the general level of uncertainty.”
Citing tough trading conditions in an increasingly competitive sector, Office Outlet, entered administration in March and has since seen 106 job losses at its head office and distribution centre. The administrators are still seeking a buyer for all of part of the remaining business.
Share