McEwens enters administration
McEwens, the Scottish family-run department store chain, has entered administration.
Established in 1868, the company’s flagship store in Perth features a restaurant, hair salon and medi-spa. The company also operates smaller stores in Ballater and Oban.
Joint administrators Blair Nimmo and Tony Friar of KPMG said McEwens employed 110 staff at the time of the administration.
Some 64 employees have now been made redundant with 46 employees remaining to assist the joint administrators.
The stores in Ballater and Oban have both closed while the Perth store reopened on 25 March for its closing down sale.
McEwens of Perth has been trading on the same site since March 1868 and started as a women’s fashion retailer. In 1982 the business was acquired by the Bullough family and the range was expanded to include homewares.
Despite further expansion with the opening of new stores, the business experienced challenging trading conditions resulting in the closure of its loss-making stores in Inverness and Aberdeen in 2015.
Nimmo said: “Despite the directors’ best efforts, McEwens of Perth continued to incur trading losses as a result of the many challenges being felt by the retail sector. Inevitably this has led to the unfortunate demise of a well-known and highly-regarded brand.
“We have started a closing down sale in a bid to realise assets, and are grateful to the remaining staff for their efforts and assistance. We are working with those staff made redundant to ensure they receive the necessary support from relevant agencies.”
KPMG said any parties interested in acquiring the business or its assets should contact the joint administrators immediately.
