High-street technology retailer Maplin has entered administration, after takeover talks broke down and the company failed to raise enough capital to avoid a collapse. CEO Graham Harris cited the weak British pound following the Brexit referendum, a lack of consumer confidence and the withdrawal of the company’s credit insurance as factors in its ongoing financial struggles.
Bosses are now working with administrators PwC to try and find a buyer and secure the jobs of as many of the retailer’s 2,300 staff as they can. The company will continue to trade as normal during the administration process, with no store closures or staff redundancies planned as of yet, according to PwC.
Analyst Comment
Maplin could be considered as the Radio Shack of the UK. It started as a mail order retail components business back in the 60s or 70s when I was a regular customer, although I was never over-impressed with the company or its products. Still, in many towns (it has 200 stores), it’s the only place you are likely to be able to buy electronic components ‘in an emergency’. The 28th February is now going to be known as ‘Black Wednesday’ by the retail business as Toys R Us also went into administration within hours of the Maplin failure. (BR)
