High street fashion chain Select ‘collapses’ after closing 35 stores
A high-street clothing chain has gone bust after 35 of its stores shut earlier this month.
Staff at Select Fashion have reportedly been told they won’t get redundancy pay or any unpaid wages as insolvency firm Moorfields begins the wind-down process.
The womenswear retailer already closed 35 shops in mid-March as the chain went under.
Forty-eight stories will survive the liquidation and trade as Select after a deal with Essence Fashion Limited.
Workers at the shops that shut have been told their outstanding wages worked before the closures will not be paid, according to The Sun.
They have also been advised to apply for the Government’s Redundancy Payment Service (RPS).
Other employees at the chain’s remaining 48 shops have also reportedly been warned of delayed payments.
But one employee of a Select Fashion store, which is remaining open, told Metro they were ‘really happy’ their shop had survived the closures.
In an email seen by The Sun, Select Fashion is said to informed their employees they had gone bust.
They added: ‘Please be assured that your wages will be processed and paid out next week.
‘We are doing everything we can to resolve this matter as swiftly as possible and appreciate your understanding during this difficult time.’
The struggling fashion brand drafted in advisors last week to oversee the business’s liquidation.
The liquidation was officially confirmed following a creditors’ vote at a meeting last week.
Select was founded by Turkish entrepreneur Cafer Mahiroğlu in the early 1980s and previously operated 105 stores.
Select fell into administration before in 2019, before being rescued by Genus UK.
The company reported a pre-tax loss of £1.1 million for the year ending February 2023, according to its most recently-filed accounts.
Full list of Select stores which shut earlier this month
Runcorn
Ashton-under-Lyne
Accrington
Preston
Birkenhead
Thornby
Middlesbrough
Hull Hessle
Ashington
Scunthorpe
Peterlee
Hull St Stephen’s
Scarborough
Hatfield
Wellingborough
Witham
Bristol Broadmead
Bristol Broadwalk Shopping Centre
Torquay
Newport
Eastleigh
Southampton
Chippenham
Port Talbot
Merthyr Tydfil
Hemel Hampstead
Worksop
South Shields
Coalville
Kidderminster
Crewe
Bletchley
Wolverhampton
Hartlepool
Cowley
Select’s reported collapse follows a turbulent time for a string of high street giants.
Rival New Look has announced 26 stores are losing down in 2025, with 90 ‘at risk’ when their leases expire.
Rival brand Quiz shut 23 stores, a third of its total, in February after falling into administration.
The retailer cited reduced spending among its customers from the cost of living crisis for the decision.
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