Britain’s Next Purchases Assets of Troubled Retailer Cath Kidston
LONDON — Nine months after its sale to Hilco Capital, Cath Kidston has been placed into administration, broken up and sold to Next plc.
Next said it has agreed to acquire the Cath Kidston brand name, domain names and intellectual property from the administrators for 8.5 million pounds.
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The cathkidston.com domain will be licensed back to the administrators, PwC, for a period of up to 12 weeks in order to clear stock prior to relaunch under Next plc’s ownership.
Administrators confirmed that the stores, including the flagship on Piccadilly, will shut, and layoffs are planned.
This is the second time in three years that Cath Kidston, which is known for its retro-tinged designs, jaunty patterns and products including clothing, pajamas, tote bags and childrenswear, has been placed into administration.
It ran into trouble after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but relaunched shortly thereafter under the same owners, Baring Private Equity Asia. Last June, BPEA sold Cath Kidston to Hilco Capital, which specializes in distressed assets and other investments.
At the time, Marty Wikstrom, non-executive chair at Cath Kidston, said the Hilco team “have committed to taking the company to its next stage of growth, which will allow us to invest further in e-commerce and expand into new markets.”
Cath Kidston has four U.K. stores, and eight international franchise partners that operate around 95 shops-in-shop. It also has a wholesale business, while the e-commerce site ships to more than 50 countries.
Around one-third of revenue is generated outside the U.K. In the past, Cath Kidston has partnered with brands including Disney, Beatrix Potter and Harry Potter.
For the year ended March 2022, Cath Kidston achieved sales of 29 million pounds and delivered a profit, according to BPEA.
On Wednesday, Next reported an 8.4 percent uptick in sales to 5.2 billion pounds in fiscal 2023, and a 5 percent rise in profits to 711.7 million pounds.
Next plc has 500 physical stores in the U.K. and Ireland, while the Next.co.uk marketplace carries more than 700 fashion, home and beauty brands. The Leicester, England-based company is also part-owner of high street clothing brand Reiss.
Next plc has also made a specialty of reviving distressed or bankrupt businesses online, and selling them on the platform.
In the U.K., Next plc is the exclusive stockist of Laura Ashley homeware and Victoria’s Secret. The company recently brought Gap and Banana Republic back to the U.K. high street via a joint venture with the U.S. owners.
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