My Local entered administration at the end of last month – just nine months after launching under the leadership of former ACS chairman Mike Greene.
More than 90 stores in the chain were immediately closed and the remainder were put up for sale.
Mark Orton, partner at KPMG and joint administrator at My Local said they were in “active discussions” with a number of interested parties in relation to the 32 premises that were still trading at the point the group went into administration, as well as a small number of the stores that had closed.
Greene cited “intense competition in the toughest market for convenience stores for 20 years” as the reason for not being able to return the business to profit.
The last nine months has been one of the toughest retail trading periods that I have ever experienced and My Local has faced intense competition
Mike Greene
The closure came just days after the Local Data Company warned that the convenience market had become saturated with the number of stores rising by a fifth to the end of 2015, led by the multiples. Matthew Hopkinson, LDC director said there is “major oversupply” in the market.
When Greene took over the chain from Morrisons, backed by investment firm Greybull Capital in September 2015, there were concerns over the unsuitability of many store locations, as well as the high wages staff were receiving.
“It was never going to be easy. When we took over, the network was heavily loss-making and some stores had closed,” Greene added.
“The last nine months has been one of the toughest retail trading periods that I have ever experienced and My Local has faced intense competition.
“This is the first time in 20 years that the convenience sector is not growing strongly. I am truly sorry.”
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