Around 200 jobs lost as Glasgow-based fashion retailer Quiz enters administration

Around 200 jobs are to be lost as Glasgow-based fashion retailer Quiz entered administration – with 28 staff made redundant in Scotland.

The troubled retail group had been scrambling to secure its future in recent weeks after warning it could run out of cash in the first few months of 2025.

The company, which runs 62 stores and 47 concessions across the UK, has appointed insolvency practitioner Teneo as administrator to its wholly owned subsidiary, Zandra Retail Limited.

Following the appointment of administrators, Orion Retail Limited, another subsidiary of the Company, has agreed to immediately acquire 42 stores operated by Zandra.

The company – headquartered in Glasgow – say this will “preserve the majority of the group’s retail employees”.

However, 23 stores deemed to be loss-making or unsustainable will not be operated by Orion and were closed by the administrators soon after the appointment.

Four of those are in Scotland – in Glasgow at the Forge shopping centre, in Dundee at the Overgate, at Falkirk’s Howgate Centre and on Brandon Parade South in Motherwell.

The closure of the stores will result in 28 jobs lost for staff in Scotland.

Quiz’s online business, concessions, and international operations are operated by other subsidiaries and are not affected by the announcement.

Reports suggest a pre-pack insolvency deal could be struck which would allow the firm’s founders, the Ramzan family, to take control of the business.

Sheraz Ramzan, CEO of Quiz commented: “The Board took the difficult decision to appoint administrators to Zandra Retail Limited in light of the continuing challenging trading conditions impacting the Group’s performance.

“We are deeply sorry to those affected by the store closures, including our retail colleagues. However, this decision will put the business in a more sustainable footing for the future and protect several hundred jobs as a result.”

In January, Quiz dropped its listing on London’s AIM stock market in order to save itself cash.

Quiz said sales had been “disappointing” in the Christmas trading period and that its cash reserves are “less than previously anticipated”.

It said the poor trading was partly because of the “impact of inflationary pressures on consumer confidence and spending”.