Shops Must Shut To Battle Online Threat, Says Oasis Fashion Boss

The owner of Oasis, Coast and Warehouse has unveiled plans to cut its store portfolio by a quarter to help cope with online competition.

Chief financial officer Richard Glanville said the Aurora Fashions group had approached landlords asking for cuts in rent costs on stores. But he said the group was prepared to pull out if deals could not be reached.

‘Fashion retailing is increasingly going online and times are extremely tough for bricks and mortar operators. We are reviewing our entire store portfolio and are in daily discussions with landlords. We want to reduce our store portfolio in the UK by 25 per cent over the coming years,’ Glanville said, according to a report.

Clothing trade press reports also said insurers have scaled back some credit cover on suppliers to the group.

In December the Aurora Fashions' chairman Derek Lovelock said total group sales in the year to February 2012 - the most recently  were ‘slightly positive’. Online sales increased 28 per cent in the period.

The group has split off its Karen Millen business into a separate business and is in the process of separating Coast.


Tags: Aurora Fashions, Oasis, Warehouse, Karen Millen, Coast, High Street, Derek Lovelock, Richard Glanville, ecommerce, online shopping, internet fashion, etail, online retail