Passion for Perfume went into administration this week after the company directors failed to find a buyer for the struggling business.
Administrators at Deloitte said the company made 185 redundancies across its 45 stores on New Year’s Eve and let go of 9 employees at its head office in Manchester.
Passion for Perfume was established in 2004 and sold perfume online and through its network of shops in the UK.
In recent times, the company fell into financial difficulties that it blamed on ‘challenging trading conditions and reduced consumer demand’.
The fragrance market has been stagnant for a while, growing barely above zero in Europe since 2002, according to figures from market researchers Euromonitor.
Plans to sell the business
Looking forward, Bill Lawson, reorganization services partner at Deloitte, said: “We will continue to seek a buyer for the business and assets of the company but do not intend to trade the business.”
The failure of Passion for Perfume follows the demise of a number of other leading retailers in the UK. Woolworths, Adams and Zavvi are among those to be placed in administration in recent weeks.
In the cosmetics industry, Budlepack COSi in Maesteg, South Wales, went into administration at the end of November and finally closed at the end of last month. The manufacturer blamed the closure on a 25 per cent drop in sales.