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Staff await news amid Fopp crisis.
Specialist retailer shuts shops and 800 staff remain unpaid, while talks with financiers begin
by Ben Cardew & Gordon Masson
Fopp's employees face an agonising wait to discover whether they still have jobs, after the retailer last Thursday closed its stores and opened talks with Ernst and Young over the possibility of administration.
Around 800 people work across the company's 87 stores, just under half of which were still operating as the Music Zone outlets that Fopp acquired in February.
Fopp stores closed unexpectedly for the day on June 22, prompting denials early last week that the company would go into administration. However, late last Thursday (June 28), management sent an email to staff informing them that "the company is unable to pay this month's wages," adding, "All staff are therefore on leave until further notice."
A spokeswoman for accountants Ernst and Young said last Friday, "We have been brought in for discussions by management regarding options for the business." At that point in time, she added, "We have not been appointed as administrators."
An official statement from Press Counsel - Fopp's public relations team - read: "It is with great regret that we announce the closure of Fopp. Our store chain is profitable, well regarded and loved by our loyal customers and staff. However we have failed to gain the necessary support from major stakeholders, suppliers and their credit insurers to generate sufficient working capital to run our expanding business."
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