Adams store.
Troubled childrenswear chain Adams has fallen into administration for the third time in as many years, putting more than 2,000 jobs at risk.
Staff were told today that restructuring firms MCR and Gerald Edelman had been appointed as joint administrators to parent company JS Childrenswear and that a buyer was being sought for the company.
"The company is trading as normal at present while all options are considered," said MCR partner Paul Clark, who added that suppliers had been going unpaid for some time. "We are now looking at the viability of the business with a view to securing a going-concern sale."
The troubled retailer, which also supplies the Mini Mode range to Boots, has already been through several restructurings that have seen its store estate more than halve in size to 125 shops.
Adams, which was founded in Birmingham in 1933 by Amy Adams, was once one of the UK's largest children's clothing chains and at its height had 271 stores and concessions trading under the Adams Kids name.
However its recent history has been chequered. It was bought out of administration by Northern Ireland businessman John Shannon for the first time in February 2007 and he stepped in again when it hit trouble the following year. He sold it to Pakistani firm Habib Alvi Investments in September of last year and it has since been dogged by rumours of poor trading and late payments.
"Like many retailers, Adams has experienced a difficult trading environment during the past 12 months which has been exacerbated by a further downturn and general tightening of the credit market," said Clark.
Earlier today head office staff and area managers were being briefed as administrators sought their continued support, said Clark, who added: "We fully appreciate the difficult position in which the staff find themselves so soon after Christmas."
The recession had picked off the weakest players in each retail subsector with independent chains like Adams struggling to compete with the might of Asda, Tesco and Primark who dominate the childrenswear market. Adams sells babywear, school uniforms and clothes for children aged between two and 10 years but increasingly parents are buying clothes online, while schoolwear has become a price battleground for the supermarkets. It tried to reposition itself with new-look stores and ranges but ultimately has struggled to compete with the might of its rivals.
The collapse of Adams follows that of book store Borders, which went under last November taking 1,150 jobs with it, and First Quench group, operator of off-licence chains Threshers and Wine Rack, which employed nearly 6,300 people at the time of its October failure.
