Jessops, HMV and Blockbuster are the latest in a line of big-name companies to call in administrators, hot on the heels of numerous high-profile 2012 closures in Comet, JJB and Clinton Card, and forecasts suggest many more businesses are likely to experience financial trouble in the year ahead.
However, Keith Tully - Director of leading insolvency practitioners www.realbusinessrescue.co.uk - maintains companies can often be saved from bankruptcy, thus safeguarding jobs, if they act quicker.
"The picture seems to be very much 'doom and gloom' at present but this is not to say that any business in the 'at risk' category cannot pull through and we would always urge retailers to seek help at the first sign of trouble," Mr Tully said.
"The insolvency process clearly rings alarm bells but it can result in significant parts of the business surviving and the safeguarding of many jobs. Recent R3 (insolvency trade body) research shows that nearly 50% of jobs are surviving insolvency in the retail sector."
Mr Tully's claims back-up the confidence shared by HMV bosses who are "convinced" they can secure a future for the business, which employs 4,500 people and has 239 stores nationally.
HMV's administrators are currently keeping the group trading as buyers circle for scraps. This could result in the sale of some of HMV's 238 worldwide outlets to help preserve jobs among the UK workforce.
Experts have often declared the digital revolution as the common denominator behind the collapses suffered by the likes of HMV and Blockbuster, a theory supported by Neil Saunders of retail analysts Conlumino, who believes the purchase of CDs and DVDs is a dying trend and administration was merely a matter of time.
"The bottom line is that there is no real future for physical retail in the entertainment sector," he said.
Others have pointed the finger at supermarket chains diversifying into multiple product ranges, such as selling electronic goods in-store and on their websites, backed by huge revenues streams allowing them to undercut their specialist rivals on price, effectively muscling in on business from what were once market leaders.
Councils also came in for some criticism with one analyst blaming crippling business rates and the lack of accessible parking in town centres; something supermarkets offer free of charge.
"If the councils want the high streets to do better, they need to reduce business rates for small shops and reinstate free parking. Their greed over parking fees and rates means that they lose more money in rates because half the shops have closed down. Anyone who runs a shop has to make a small fortune to pay in tax before the business pays them their first penny."
ABOUT REAL BUSINESS RESCUE
Real Business Rescue is the online arm of Cooper Williamson Ltd which has a national presence with their main office in Wilmslow.
They are licensed by the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and are a member of the R3 Association of Business Recovery Professionals - the UK's trade association for insolvency, business recovery and turnaround specialists.
Website: http://www.realbusinessrescue.co.uk
David Tattersall
Real Business Rescue
Marketing
Aus Bore House, 19-25 Manchester Road
Wilmslow, Cheshire
United Kingdom SK91BQ
Voice: 448002316040
http://www.realbusinessrescue.co.uk
Source:
Where Did it All Go Wrong for UK Retailers HMV, Blockbuster and Jessops? Asks Real Business Rescue
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