The Officers Club
 | |
| Limited company | |
| Industry | Retail clothing |
| Founded | 1990s (Sunderland) |
| Headquarters | Walthamstow, London, England |
Area served | UK |
| Products | Menswear |
| Owner | A Levy & Sons |
| Parent | Blue Inc |
| Website |
www |
Officers Club is a chain of men and boys fashion stores based and operated in the United Kingdom. It has stores mainly located in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with less in England where its parent retailer Blue Inc is predominant.
History
The company was founded in the 1990s in Sunderland, Tyne & Wear, and latterly had its headquarters in Cramlington, Northumberland. There were over 150 stores across the country at the firm's peak. After a number of buy-outs it become one of the biggest retail companies in the UK with flagship stores in London's Oxford Street, Cardiff, Scotland and north-east England.[1] The company also sources clothes from Asia.
Until 2004, the company ran a "70% off everything" promotion within its Officers Club branded stores. The promotion ceased after successful legal action by the Office of Fair Trading—which had issued proceedings against the company and Charlton in June 2002—which had evidence to suggest the supposed "original price" of garments was not genuine.[2] Furthermore there were rampant reports of mistreatment of staff in its headquarters in Cramlington in the years before its administration.
Administration
2008 administration
In December 2008 the company entered administration, and on 23 December The Officers Club's administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers decided to close 32 of the 150 stores immediately. PricewaterhouseCoopers also announced that 118 stores had been sold to TimeC 1215 limited for an undisclosed fee. TimeC 1215 is backed by David Charlton, chief executive of The Officers Club. This deal saved around 900 jobs.[3]
2011 administration and sale
By 2011 the Officers Club had just over 100 stores, with total of around 800 staff employed across the business. On 29 March 2011 the company entered administration again. As part of this process 47 stores were sold to rival menswear retailer Blue Inc, with staff at these stores retaining their jobs. The Officers Club brand name was retained by Blue Inc.
2016 administration
On 7 Jan 2016, parent company Blue Inc. again brought in administrators to troubled Officers Club owned and operated by A. Levy and Sons. whom in turn own the leases to Blue Incs stores, and want to close between 50 and 65 stores.[4]
As of 21 Jan 2016 a number of Officers Club stores were closed with administration noticed on their windows, whilst the majority remained open.
Products
Officers Club sells fashionable mens and boys clothing. It stocks products under its own Officers Club and Twisted Soul brands but also sells other branded clothing such as American Freshman, Adidas, Mossimo and Deakins.
References
- ↑ Power, Helen (2008-12-24). "Zavvi goes under in more High Street pain". London: The Times. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
- ↑ "Retailer gives court undertakings following OFT action" (Press release). Office of Fair Trading. 3 August 2005. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
- ↑ "Officers Club deal saves 900 jobs". BBC News Online. 2008-12-23. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
- ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/07/hundreds-jobs-risk-blue-inc-administrators-subsidiary
External links
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Wikinews has related news: Four UK retailers call in administrators during the week of Christmas |