Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Stores in the Au Naturale homewares chain are being sold to various buyers after the Glasgow-based business was put into administration last week.
Au Naturale is part of Ossian Retail Group, which has been beset by financial difficulties in recent months. Au Naturale’s sister company, the fashion retail chain Internacionale, has now been sold to an overseas retailer.
Thirty of Au Naturale’s stores in the north of England have been bought by Opus Estates, and it was reported today that a further 46, mostly in Scotland, have been sold to an unnamed party. Administrator Price Waterhouse Coopers said the buyer was a group of British investors experienced in retailing. Almost all the stores have now found buyers.
Price Waterhouse Coopers attributed Ossian’s troubles to the downturn in retailing and operational problems in supplying stock from its warehouses to its stores. The company’s banks also declined to provide further funding after it got into difficulty.
