The fashion retail industry has been severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. High streets will be left unrecognisable as stalwarts such as Debenhams and Arcadia Group’s brands permanently shut their shops, with many others also expected to rationalise their store portfolios this year. But store losses also have a marked human cost.
Following Boohoo Group’s acquisition of Debenhams last month the etailer will retain none of its 12,000 staff – 77% of whom are female, the department store s website shows. The carving up of Arcadia, between Asos and Boohoo, also leaves another 5,000 staff redundant. Here 85% of store and 71% of head-office staff were female.