- Don-Alvin Adegeest
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British lifestyle brand Jack Wills has two potential buyers to avoid it
falling into administration. Sports Director founder Mike Ashley and
Edinburgh Woollen Mill’s billionaire CEO Philip Day are the last bidders
left to buy the company, according to Sky News.
Devon-based Jack Wills employs over 1,800 people and operates 110 stores,
including 10 standalone stores in the UK. Jack Wills’ parent company
BlueGem is unlikely to make a profit from the sale of the fashion chain,
which suffered a downturn in trading in recent years.
Frontrunner Mike Ashley would purchase the company to join a retail empire
which spans House of Fraser, French Connection, Debenhams, Lillywhites and
Sports Direct. But Ashley faces stiff competition from Day, whose EWM Group
portfolio includes Austin Reed, Jaeger, Peacocks and the newly acquired
Bonmarché.
If Jack Wills is bought by Sports Direct there are expected to be job
losses, according to Sky News.
