THE HIGH Court has confirmed court protection for the company operating some 22 Vero Moda, Jack Jones and Name It outlets here which employ 183 people.
Mr Justice Brian McGovern yesterday confirmed accountant Declan McDonald as examiner to Bestseller Retail (Ireland) Ltd, the holding company for the three fashion brands, which has liabilities of some €4.1 million.
The judge heard the company had begun to implement a business plan which had already resulted in the closure of 14 of its 36 stores with the loss of 80 jobs, with a strategy of concentrating on the better-performing stores. It was also seeking to renegotiate rents as their level, combined with provision for upward-only reviews, had caused it severe problems, Gary McCarthy, for the company, said.
Bestseller’s Danish-based parent company had previously injected €5.5 million to shore up the company’s losses but had insisted on radical restructuring before it would provide further funding, the court heard. Bestseller A/S is Europe’s largest clothing retailer with about 5,000 stores employing 39,000 people.
The Irish company secured interim examinership last month on the basis of proposals and closures.
The application for protection came in circumstances where Bestseller Wholesale, which supplies all its clothing stock, demanded repayment of some €1.24 million.
