Following reports that boohoo is in talks to buy Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton out of administration:

Chloe Collins, Senior Apparel Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view on this news:

“A £25m acquisition of Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Wallis would further diversify the boohoo’s group’s range of brands with minimal investment, and would complement its aim to transform Debenhams into an online marketplace, as Arcadia’s brands were always a strong presence in Debenhams’ stores. However, with so much already on the boohoo group’s plate, it may struggle to give these tired brands the revamp they desperately need to thrive in an oversaturated market.

“While Burton would provide boohoo with opportunity to grow share in the menswear market, as its boohooMAN own-brand is constantly overshadowed by its female counterpart, Burton’s heavy focus on suiting and formalwear has been rendered redundant throughout the pandemic, with demand unlikely to return fully as businesses adopt a long-term switch towards more home working. Wallis also has a strong formalwear presence, and its customers are mainly women over 45, which boohoo has little experience of targeting as its current brands focus on a much younger demographic. These older shoppers are also less accustomed to shopping online, limiting the potential of such an acquisition as any boohoo deal will not include stores. Dorothy Perkins would fit much better with boohoo’s current proposition, as it has a similar shopper base as Oasis and Warehouse, which the group acquired last June, however it would need to establish a unique selling point for Dorothy Perkins to create differentiation between the brands.”