American clothing retailer Gap has announced that it will close all of its 81 stores in the U.K. and Ireland by the end of 2021.

Online retail company ASOS, confirmed Monday Feb. 1, 2021, it has sealed the takeover of Topshop and three other brands from the collapse of the Arcadia retail empire, buying the brand names but not the high street retail space. The deal, announced Monday, puts thousands of jobs at risk because Asos acquired the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge’s and HIIT brands but none of their stores. AdArcadia struggled to respond to increased competition from low-cost rivals like Primark, as well as from online disrupters such as Asos and Boohoo. The four brands acquired in Monday’s deal posted sales of 1 billion pounds, Asos said. Boohoo, said last week it was in exclusive talks to buy three other Arcadia brands — Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton — in a deal that also won’t include any stores.

Under the terms of the deal, Boohoo will sell Debenhams products from early next year. Boohoo said the deal represents a “fantastic opportunity” to target new customers and launch into beauty, sports and homewares. However, Shore Capital retail analyst Greg Lawless cautioned that an online-only operation could hit Debenhams’ beauty sales. “The big question in beauty is whether the big beauty brands — Clinique and Chanel — will remain with Boohoo longer term," he said. Arcadia, which employed around 13,000 people and has 444 U.K. stores, also collapsed at the start of December.

A woman wearing a face mask walks past the Debenhams flagship department store on Oxford Street, during England's second coronavirus lockdown in London, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020. Long-suffering Debenhams, the 242-year-old department store chain, said Tuesday that administrators had decided to start winding down operations after a potential buyer of the company pulled out. Since the pandemic took root in March, the U.K. has forced the closure of retailing outlets in various ways. Arcadia is the biggest operator of concessions in Debenhams department stores, so its potential collapse affected Debenhams' appeal. Brands were added to the Burton menswear business before the umbrella company Arcadia was formed in 1997.

Arcadia Group, the retail empire of tycoon Philip Green, which owns well-known British fashion chains like Topshop and employs around 15,000 people, appears to be on the brink of collapse following the economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic. In another blow to the country's retail industry during the coronavirus pandemic, Arcadia said it had called in administrators from Deloitte. The decision protects Arcadia from creditors while a buyer is sought for all or parts of the company. For the past couple of decades, Green has been one of the most influential executives in European retailing. He bought Arcadia in 2002 and subsequently came close to taking over Marks & Spencer, too.

(AP Photo/Matt Dunham, FILE)LONDON – The retail empire of tycoon Philip Green, which owns well-known British fashion chains like Topshop, appears to be on the brink of collapse following the economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic. England is in a four-week lockdown that has forced the closure of all shops selling items deemed to be non-essential. For the past couple of decades, Green has been one of the most influential executives in European retailing. Though Green subsequently paid hundreds of millions into the pension, his reputation never recovered. Chappell, meanwhile, was this month sentenced to six years in jail for tax evasion during his time running BHS.

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