Fenwick: John Lewis rival slumps into the red and cuts jobs

Department store chain Fenwick slumped back into the red and cut jobs as it battled the cost-of-living crisis and a “changing retail environment”.

The Newcastle-headquartered business has reported a pre-tax loss of £28.3m for the year to 26 January, 2024, having previously made a pre-tax profit of £57.1m in the prior 12 months.

Newly-filed accounts with Companies House have also revealed that Fenwick’s turnover fell from £199.6m to £184.2m in the 12 months.

The firm’s return to the red comes after it last made a pre-tax loss in the year to 28 January, 2022, posting a £8.2m deficit.

During the year the average number of people employed by the business fell from 1,644 to 1,569.

Fenwick operates department stores in Newcastle, Kingston, Brent Cross, Colchester, Canterbury, Tunbridge Wells, Bracknell and York.

A statement signed off by the board said: “The market environment continues to provide a challenging backdrop to sales.

“The effects of the war in Ukraine continued to be felt and to impact upon supply chain and costs.

“Mortgage rates continued to be high, as did inflation, contributing further to the ongoing effects of the cost-of-living crisis.

“In the last quarter sales were further impacted by heavy discounting by competitors.

“This has impacted the group’s ability to limit discounting and contain costs relative to sales.”

On its future, Fenwick added: “The group is focused on returning to profitability across its operations.

“Steps will continue to be taken to improve the operating model, especially with regards to an ever more efficient online operating model and there will be a strong focus on improving the revenue growth and profitability of our online and bricks and mortar offering.

“This will be achieved through a focus on retail basis, delivering differentiated customer service and preserving margin on products offered and building upon the strong position it has in the local markets within which it trades.”

Ex-Harrods executive claims Fenwick stopped him from taking CEO job

The results come after a former senior executive at Harrods under Mohamed Al Fayed denied claims he pulled out of becoming the boss of Fenwick, instead saying that the company stopped the move.

Nigel Blow, who worked at Harrods between 1992 and 2007, added that he “never heard about or witnessed” alleged sexual abuse under Mr Al Fayed.

Mr Al Fayed, the former Harrods and Fulham FC owner who died last year aged 94, has been accused of multiple sexual assaults after a BBC investigation was published in September.

The claims include five accusations of rape and multiple allegations of sexual abuse.

Fenwick said in early October that Mr Blow had “informed” the company that he would no longer take up the role of chief executive, weeks before he was set to start the job.

But Mr Blow responded in a statement claiming that Fenwick had “withdrawn” the offer, and that he was “shocked” by the decision.

Fenwick declined to comment while Harrods was approached for comment.