Fashion chain Quiz has warned 1,000 jobs could be at risk after it filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators this week.
The move comes days after Quiz said it was reviewing options to secure its future following a dismal Christmas trading period, including new financing and potential store closures.
Quiz, which operates around 40 stores across the UK, said the filing would give it time to assess funding alternatives, adding that trading continued as normal online and in stores.
If the process goes ahead, it would mark the third time in six years that Quiz has gone into administration.
For now, all the chain’s shops and its online store remain open and are trading as normal.
On the brink: Quiz has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators this week
A Quiz spokesman told This is Money: ‘Like many other high street retailers, we have faced significant headwinds over the past 12 months, including the impact of fragile consumer confidence and a significant increase in business rates and employer costs.
‘In response to these challenges, we have been working with our shareholders and advisors to explore the availability of additional funding to support the business.
‘While we continue to explore the options available to us, we have today filed Notices of Intention to Appoint Administrators which will give us the time we need to try and secure a positive outcome.
‘In the meantime, all our stores remain open with business as usual.’
In February last year, Quiz crashed into administration with the closure of 23 stores and the loss of almost 200 jobs.
The clothing retailer called in administrators yesterday before its founding Ramzan family bought back 42 shops, saving around 1,300 jobs.
Sheraz Ramzan, chief executive of Quiz said in February 2025: ‘We are deeply sorry to those affected by the store closures, including our retail colleagues.
‘However, this decision will put the business on a more sustainable footing for the future and protect several hundred jobs.’
At the time, Quiz blamed poor sales on the ‘impact of inflationary pressures on consumer confidence and spending’.
The company abandoned its listing on London’s junior stock market in January 2025 amid a battle to stay afloat.
Quiz was started by entrepreneur Tarak Ramzan, the son of Pakistani immigrants, as a single shop in 1993.
Demise: On Monday, Claire’s, the accessories retailer, collapsed into administration
Disastrous week for retailers
It has been a torrid week for retailers. Many are facing a tidal wave of higher costs, rising wages, energy bills, taxes and business rates.
Online-based rivals have also caused serious problems for many conventional retailers.
Earlier this week, The Original Factory Shop collapsed into administration amid ‘challenging trading conditions’ and higher labour costs.
Rick Harrison and James Clark from Interpath were appointed joint administrators today, and will continue to trade all 137 stores as a going concern while they ‘assess options’. The company’s online shop, however, will close immediately.
Read More The Original Factory Shop collapses into administration putting 1,200 jobs at risk
Administrators said The Original Factory Shop had experienced challenging trading conditions, driven by high cost inflation, fragile consumer confidence and ‘government policies which have led to significant increases in employment costs’.
Rick Harrison, managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said: ‘The Original Factory Shop has long-been a cornerstone of local high streets up and down the country.
‘Unfortunately, however, trading challenges have impacted the business such that the Company had to be placed into administration.
On Monday, Claire’s, the accessories retailer, collapsed into administration just four months after its last brush with insolvency, putting more than 1,000 high street jobs at risk.
Insolvency practitioners from Kroll were formally appointed as administrators to Claire’s UK and Ireland on Monday and around 150 of the chain’s shops are being closed.
On 28 January, high-end fashion retailer LK Bennett was bought out of administration by an investment firm that swoops on struggling brands.
The upmarket British fashion brand filed its intention to appoint administrators earlier this month after failing to find a buyer.
Gordon Brothers, which bought Poundland for £1 last year, said it had bought the LK Bennett brand from administrators and would transition it to an ‘asset-light model’, suggesting job losses are on the horizon.
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