The Officers Club

Officers Club
Limited company
Industry Retail
Founded 1990s (Sunderland)
Headquarters London, E17
United Kingdom
Area served
 United Kingdom
Products Men's Clothing
Men's Footwear
Men's Accessories
Owner Marlow Retail Limited
Parent Blue Inc
Website www.officersclub.com

Officers Club is a chain of men and boys fashion stores based and operated in the United Kingdom. Its stores are mainly located in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with fewer in England where its parent retailer Blue Inc is predominant.

Products

Officers Club sells fashionable clothing for men and boys. 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.

History

The business 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 during the business's peak. Following a number of acquisitions 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 in June 2002; there was evidence to suggest the supposed "original price" of garments was not genuine.[2] There had also been reports of staff mistreatment at 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 was backed by David Charlton, the then CEO of The Officers Club business. This deal saved around 900 jobs.[3]

2011 administration and sale

In 2011 the Officers Club had just more than 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 also purchased and retained by the Blue Inc business.

2016 administration

On 7 Jan 2016, parent company Blue Inc again brought in administrators to troubled Officers Club, itself owned and operated by subsidiary business "A. Levy and Sons" whom also own leases to Blue Inc's stores; there were to be around 50 affected stores.[4]

On 21 Jan 2016 a number of Officers Club stores were closed with administration notices displayed, the majority remained open.

References

  1. ↑ Power, Helen (2008-12-24). "Zavvi goes under". London: The Times. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  2. ↑ "Retailer gives court undertakings following OFT action" (Press release). Office of Fair Trading. 3 August 2005. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  3. ↑ "Officers Club deal saves 900 jobs". BBC News Online. 2008-12-23. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  4. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/07/hundreds-jobs-risk-blue-inc-administrators-subsidiary
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