Shoppers may flock to one of New Look’s 26 outlets around the State from Sunday in search of a bargain, but it will be too late for the 347 workers at its Irish stores.
The UK fast fashion giant pulled the plug Thursday on its entire Irish network of 26 stores across Dublin, Cork, Galway, Wicklow and Letterkenny. But, having received the devastating news, those same staff will be on hand to help customers as the group pulls its shutters back up for a short time in a fire sale of its remaining stock, valued at €2.4 million, for the benefit of creditors.
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The staff at New Look are not alone. Quiz, another fast fashion group, decided earlier on Thursday to close 23 of its outlets as it emerged from administration – a UK process like our examinership – acquired by a subsidiary of the family-owned business that founded the chain in Scotland.
Five of those 23 stores are in Ireland – in Tallaght, Athlone, Newbridge, Derry and Enniskillen. The closure means the loss of 54 jobs.
Retail in general has been under pressure from a wide range of factors over recent years but the news this week that 400 jobs across two international chains are disappearing still shocked.
New Look put its decision down variously to the cost-of-living pressures, staff costs, supply chain and in-market costs, and consumer spending moving online.
Quiz blamed “disappointing” sales in the key Christmas trading period partly because of the “impact of inflationary pressures on consumer confidence and spending”.
Arnold Dillon, director of Ibec’s Retail Ireland, said rapidly rising labour costs were threatening the viability of many businesses. That may be so. Britain’s Centre for Retail Research expects 2025 to be the worst year in recent time for job losses in the sector.
However, it emerged that New Look has debts of €17.7 million, a Revenue bill of €500,000 and had been looking for a rescue as far back as 2020. It has made a loss in each of the past four years. This is not a group crippled by labour costs imposed in the past 12 months.
It appears, like so many operators in the fast fashion space, it was simply operating on wafer-thin margins that allowed no scope for anything unexpected – such as the rapid rise in popularity for even cheaper competitors (online) like Shein and Temu.
