15:17 suppliers claim to be owed thousands

Section retailer chain fifteen:17 launched in 2019, snapping up a former BHS web-site to open its initially retailer in Scotland’s Ayr. The business also has a fifteen:17 retailer in a web-site formerly occupied by Beales in Worthing, Sussex, which opened in December 2020.

Previously this month, fifteen:17 struck additional offers to open new merchants in former Debenhams, Property of Fraser and Topshop internet sites. The organization has secured leases for two former Debenhams merchants, in Kirkcaldy, Scotland, and Canterbury, Kent. It has also taken on a retailer in Harlow, Hertfordshire, formerly occupied by BHS. The department retailer business options to open two merchants at former Arcadia internet sites: an ex-Topshop retailer in Corby, Northamptonshire, and a former Outfit retailer in Cardiff. It has also secured the lease of a former Property of Fraser Retail store in Grimsby, north-east Lincolnshire.

The Cardiff retailer will be all set to open when lockdown measures are lifted in England on 12 April. It is not nevertheless identified when the other retailers will open.

Drapers has spoken to quite a few lenders and traders, together with the proprietors of fashion concessions, who experienced involvement in the Ayr and Worthing fifteen:17 merchants that had been running pre-lockdown. They assert to be owed in excessive of £10,000 each and every by the retailer for sales generated in concessions and for the shipping and delivery of in shape-out companies. The organization performs on a concession model, and is recognized to get all-around 20% of businesses’ turnover.

“The [customer’s] revenue from retailer sales goes through [fifteen:17’s] tills, they get 20%, and then you get the rest of the revenue again,” the director of 1 concession spelled out. “However, when fifteen:17 begun buying and selling [when the lockdown was quickly lifted] we in no way bought our revenue [revenues] through. We are continue to owed the revenue from them now.”

Karl Tandy, the director of constructing companies and shop fitting agency K.T Setting up, which renovated the Worthing retailer very last calendar year, explained in a Fb article: “Anyone pondering of investing revenue in the new fifteen:17 retailer in Worthing when it reopens remember to believe yet again. They are not a neighborhood organization and they have not paid any neighborhood organizations the revenue they are owed. My organization, K.T Setting up renovated their retailer night time and day for four months solid.

“They have a invoice of in excess of £100,000 and are refusing to pay back any of it. Just after additional exploration it seems that this is regular observe for them. This is a large amount of money for a neighborhood constructing agency to carry.”

The operator of yet another concession explained she is at present giving the organization the benefit of the question when they type out “teething problems”: “We are continue to owed some revenue due to the fact the [lockdown] close down was so brief.

“Their accounts department is on furlough so when they are again up and operating, I would hope this to be paid. I am giving them the benefit of the question, I know. I want to rejoice and support people who have the bravery to try in this tumultuous time and market place. I realise at some point while I may possibly have to evaluate this tentative balance, but I’m continue to rooting for them to get it sorted nowadays.”

Drapers has contacted fifteen:17 directors about the allegations built, but the organization has not commented on the promises about revenue owed. 

Running via a concession model, concessionaires pay back a established month to month fee for a concession space. The organization costs organizations amongst £22 and £40/sq ft of retail space each and every 7 days. Storage space expenses £20 for every 7 days. This is on leading of fifteen:17 taking 20% of sales.

This fee addresses expenses such as lease, prices, heating, lights, squander disposal and substantial-speed fibre optic cabling. It also contains wi-fi, personnel rooms and washrooms, retailer protection, marketing and an in-retailer manager. Income personnel can also be presented, with both of those manned and unmanned concession selections out there.

Each concession is accountable for its individual fixtures and fittings and insurance coverage, covering inventory, community indemnity and personnel.

fifteen:17’s solution mix contains children’s, women’s, men’s clothes, footwear and home decor from both of those neighborhood and national makes. Childrenswear companions at the Ayr retailer involve Minimal Lord & Girl, Ziggle, Jacob Matthews, and children’s footwear brand name London Rebel, which delivers labels such as Puma, Under Armour and Asics.

The operator of fifteen:17 is CEO and chairman Mercier Mainwaring. His qualifications contains operate with M&Co, Etam and Debenhams, as effectively as remaining the former managing director of MK 1. Other essential players on the fifteen:17 group are chief financial officer Scott Stibbs head of layout and residence Mark Smith head of brand name partnerships Julie Kerr and residence adviser and new business marketing consultant Ted Ward.

The Insolvency Service is making inquiries into Ward’s carry out. In 2010 he was banned from serving as a organization director for 12 a long time, after his stewardship of Blackhurst & Ward Residence Builders, which borrowed revenue to build attributes that had been in no way built.

An Insolvency Service spokesman told Drapers: “We are making enquiries into Edward Ward’s carry out. We do not comment on investigatory issues.”

Describing its thought in a Fb article, fifteen:17 explained: “Imagine a retailer the place along with shopping and searching you can get an physical exercise class, see your optician, meet up with pals for lunch, attend a fashion present, have your hair performed by professionals, get the young children to comfortable enjoy and even article a letter or parcel when gathering your weekly veg box from the neighborhood farmers’ market place. Our retailer is developed to bring leisure, pleasure and company again to the substantial street.

“This is a local community within a local community all beneath 1 roof the place national meets neighborhood – we all increase with each other.”