Clinton Cards’ chief executive Darcy Willson-Rymer, who joined the struggling retailer in October 2011 and rapidly embarked upon a turnaround plan, is thought to be one of the early casualties as the company collapses into administration.
Administrator Zolfo Cooper is understood to have removed the former Starbucks chief out of the business as WHSmith joins Card Factory and OpCapita – owner of electricals retailer Comet and entertainment specialist Game – to stake a claim for one of the UK’s largest retail chains.
Other members of the board are also thought to have left, while former purchasing director Brett Smith departed earlier this year to launch an independent card chain in the south east of England.
After battling difficult economic conditions and intense competition from Card Factory and supermarket outlets, Clinton Cards fell on Wednesday 9 May when its major supplier American Greetings bought the retailer’s debt for £35m from lenders Barclays and RBS and forced an administration.
The board of Clinton Cards was reported to have been ‘shocked’ by the move, while American Greetings is owed up to $20 million from the chain. The giant US publisher was unconvinced by the results of Willson-Rymer’s strategic review, completed at the end of April, and called in Zolfo Cooper.
Offering a ray of hope to some of the other 8,000 staff employed by the business, the chief executive of American Greetings, Zev Weiss commented: “We would like to see Clinton Cards continue as an important retailer in the specialty channel of distribution in the UK greeting card market. As secured lender, we are better positioned to assist in identifying and obtaining the best possible solution for Clinton Cards, where we may ultimately participate in the ownership of the business or may continue as a supplier to any buyer of the business.
“We believe that properly managed, and with the appropriate capital structure, Clinton Cards could be both an important and profitable retailer in the specialty channel of distribution over the long term.”
Clinton Cards has debts of £100 million but it likely now that up to half of the retailer’s 700 stores will be saved.
