Suppliers react to Brantano sale

Alteri Investors bought 81 Brantano stores and 59 concessions on Monday, saving a total of 1,372 jobs. The Alteri sale excludes 57 stores and one concession. Brantano’s administrators PwC will continue to trade these stores while it continues to negotiate with interested parties.

One Brantano supplier he was not surprised to see part of the business sold, as it was “always the most likely outcome”.

“I think that overall a smaller Brantano business is a good thing, as hopefully they have lost all the non-contributing stores.”

However he added the new owners would need to look at the business model moving forward and buy more brands as opposed to private label, as well as improving Brantano’s online performance. “That has been poor for a number of years,” he added. 

The managing director of another footwear brand stocked by Brantano said he was relieved Brantano will continue to trade.

Another supplier said the sale “was not really an issue” and would not harm trade going forward. He added that Pavers and Shoe Zone are “likely candidates” to pick up some of the remaining Brantano units.

Brantano, which was sold by Macintosh Retail Group to Alteri Investors in October 2015, appointed Tony Barrell, Mike Jervis and Rob Hunt of PwC as joint administrators on January 21.

Speaking to Drapers following the sale, a spokesman for Brantano said: “Every action possible was taken to complete a solvent restructure including extensive renegotiations with landlords. Unfortunately the landlords were unable to revise their terms to a viable level. The insolvency of our previous parent company, Macintosh Retail Group, added further complexity. Consequently, it became clear that placing Brantano in administration was the only route available.”

The spokesman added that the restructured format was now “well placed for future development” and both Brantano and its sister company Jones Bootmaker - which was unaffected by the administration - are “well-funded and are able to move forward on a solid strategic, operational and financial footing”.