Parent Group Sales Profit Double Backwards High Street King Topshop Is Dead

Last Sunday's Sunday times has revealed that over 20 British retailers have consulted Deloitte LLP DDT over the past two months in business assessment and debt restructuring.

According to the daily telegraph, Arcadia Group Ltd., one of the most disreputable British retail giant Philip Green Philip Green, is one of them.

In the United Kingdom, the overall decline of high street retail, and ASOS PLC (ASC.L), Boohoo Group PLC (BOO.L) and Misguided, and other fashion businesses, the sales profits of Arcadia Group Ltd. continued to decline in recent years.

As the lease expires in the past two years, the group has closed 210 stores, reduced the retail sales of the British home market by 1/5, Dorothy Perkins, Evans and Wallis respectively closed 62, 41 and 26 stores, and Burton, Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge and other brands also reduced 80 stores.

It is reported that most stores have been renting since 90s of last century, and their tenancy is usually 25 years. Every five years, the owner reassessed the rent.

John Webber, director of business property tax at Colliers International, a commercial real estate agency, points out that behind many high-profile retail restructuring cases of high street retail, retailers are choosing not to renew their homes, but they are also very destructive.

Due to the increasing burden of business property tax and the accelerated pformation of consumption habits, the study said that in the first half of 2018, an average of 14 shops collapsed on high street in Britain every day.

JohnWebber estimates that Arcadia Group Ltd.'s business property tax expenditure has increased by 20 million in the past five years, and 128 million pounds last year.

EY's survey of the UK retail market also showed that the UK listed retailers issued 36 earnings warning in 2018, a record high in the past ten years, accounting for three of Debenhams PLC (DEB.L) in 100 years.

Moreover, more than 1/3 of the general retailers listed on the London Stock Exchange showed that the rate of return to earnings was faster than expected. Half of the retailers blamed the weak consumer confidence on the causes. Although official figures have been reflecting the acceleration of national wage growth, the growth rate in the last three months has reached the highest level since the financial crisis in 2008. However, the threat of Britain's "disengagement" and "hard off Europe" has weakened consumers' desire to buy.

At present, Arcadia Group Ltd. still has about 570 independent stores and 500 brand counters in the local area, with 26 thousand employees.

In order to reduce the annual huge but controllable rent and labor costs, the group is likely to use CompanyVoluntary Arrangement (company voluntary arrangement, CVA) to further reduce the scale of retail sales.

The bankruptcy reorganization process requires the support of store owners and creditors. In early 2018, Arcadia Group Ltd.'s rival New Look Retail GroupLtd. facilitated the use of CVA to close down nearly 60 of the total number of stores in the UK, and at the same time reduced nearly 1000 employees.

Last week, the deal also reached a debt restructuring agreement with creditors to reduce long-term debt by 1 billion.

For the rumor of closed shop restructuring, a spokesman for Arcadia Group Ltd. told the daily mail that the group had a continuous dialogue with the owners of the store. With the expiry of the contract, the group had a "significant opportunity" to reassess the lease.

According to recent earnings reports, Arcadia Group Ltd. holding company Taveta Investments Ltd. operating profit in the fiscal year ended August 26, 2017 dropped 42% to 124 million 100 thousand pounds, and sales fell below 2 billion pounds, down 5.6% to 1 billion 910 million pounds per year.

The annual rental cost is 183 million pounds.

Topshop and Topman's operating profit also cut to 70 million pounds, and sales fell 5.8% to 933 million 600 thousand pounds.

Data on the holiday season showed that the group was further abandoned by consumers.

In the first 12 weeks of November 18, 2018, sales of Arcadia Group Ltd. dropped by 16.6% from a year ago to 2.5% in the first 16.6% weeks of November 18, 2018.

The comparable sale of flagship brand Topshop has been backwards by 20%, according to people familiar with the matter.

International business is also a weakness of Arcadia Group Ltd..

In August 2018, the group announced the end of its four year cooperation with mainland China franchise partner Beijing Shang pin Bai Agel Ecommerce Ltd (Shang pin net). Topshop's flagship store on Shang pin and Tmall has been closed by the end of November, and the vision of domestic entity expansion is also aborted.

The brand has withdrawn from the Japanese market in recent years, and business in Australia and New Zealand has ended in bankruptcy.

As chairman of Arcadia Group Ltd., Philip Green Philip Green's personality flaws are likely to make it harder for the group to turn over.

Last October, Peter Hain, a member of the British Parliament, denounced Philip Green Philip Green, claiming that he had spent millions of pounds to settle his lawsuit against at least seven sexual harassment, workplace oppression and racial discrimination against his staff. He also applied to the court for a seal to prevent the daily telegraph from exposing him.

After exposure, a brand of Topshop and Arcadia Group Ltd. has become the boycott of global consumers.

On Monday Philip Green Philip Green's lawsuit against the Daily Telegraph parent company Telegraph Media Group Ltd., the James lawyer representing the PhilipGreen Philip Green, said she did not rule out the claim to the Daily Telegraph.

In 2015, Arcadia Group Ltd. pferred the BHS department store to DominicChappell without any retail experience and bankruptcy for a symbolic 1 pounds, which indirectly led to the bankruptcy of the British Centennial department store after a year, 11 thousand employees lost their jobs and left 571 million pound pension gap, even though Philip Green made 363 million pounds compensation under the pressure of domestic politicians and public opinion, but this has deepened the public image of Philip Green Philip Green's unscrupulous businessman.

There is analysis speculation that Philip Green Philip Green may finally sell the Arcadia GroupLtd. acquired in 2002.

In 2012, he took the lead in selling 25% of the group's shares to Losangeles private Holdings Company Leonard Green & Partners LP at 350 million pounds.

Earlier, there was news that in recent years, Sandro, Maje and other high growth French luxury brand income of the Ruyi group (002193) and Philip Green Philip Green held consultations, but was denied by Chinese companies.

British market participants also believe that Mike, Ashley, who owns the retail assets of Sports Direct Internationa PLC (SPD.L) and the old department store House of Fraser Ltd., will also consider bidding.