Philip Green's retail empire Arcadia calls in administrators

LONDON (AP) — Arcadia Group, the sprawling British retail empire that includes Topshop and has been run by billionaire Philip Green since 2002, was placed into a type of bankruptcy protection on Monday, a move that effectively puts around 13,000 jobs at risk.

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.

“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the forced closure of our stores for prolonged periods, has severely impacted on trading across all of our brands," said Ian Grabiner, Arcadia’s chief executive.

“Ultimately, however, in the face of the most difficult trading conditions we have ever experienced, the obstacles we encountered were far too severe,” he added.

Arcadia, which also owns other long-established outlets in British town centers such as Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge, is arguably the biggest British retailing casualty during the pandemic. Others, such as Debenhams, Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Oasis Warehouse have all slid into insolvency since lockdown measures were first imposed in March.

Analysts have said that the pandemic hasn't been solely behind Arcadia's woes. For years, Arcadia has struggled to respond to the increased competition from low-cost rivals like Primark, as well as from online disrupters such as ASOS and Boohoo.

Critics have also said that the 68-year-old Green, who has been embroiled in a series of controversies over the past few years, hasn't invested enough in the businesses to get them in shape to deal with the new competition in retail.

“Arcadia has suffered against these emerging players because the company was slow to develop an innovative and...