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Law360 (May 19, 2020, 10:58 AM EDT) -- Century-old British luggage brand Antler announced Tuesday it has started restructuring proceedings and laid off the majority of its staff in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the global travel and retail industry.
In an announcement released Tuesday restructuring firm KPMG's U.K. office said it had been appointed administrator of Antler Ltd. and Antler Holdings Ltd., saying its retail and wholesale outlets had been shut down by the pandemic and that online sales were down in the face of global travel restrictions.
"With uncertainty over the lifting of travel restrictions placing further financial strain on the business, the directors concluded that they had no option but to appoint administrators," KPMG partner Will Wright, one of the appointed administrators, said in the announcement.
Antler was founded in 1914. The company sells luggage in 18 retail stores and online on its own website and Amazon, as well as wholesale through a number of major U.K. retailers. It had also licensed sales by third parties in Australia and Asia.
Antler was acquired by private equity form Endless LLP in July 2017, which in 2020 sold it to ATR Holdings, an affiliate of Australian handbag and luggage retailer Strandbags.
A January financial report filed by Antler said the company lost £3.1 million ($3.8 million) in 2018 and that the retail environment in the second half of 2019 had been "challenging," resulting in lower than expected sales, but Wright said the company had been "trading well" until the COVID-19 shutdowns.
The company employed 199 people, most of whom were furloughed at the time of the filing. KPMG said the administrators have since laid off 164 of those workers, primarily from the retail outlets.
Wright said the company would continue to offer online sales while he and the other administrator "assess options" for the brand, and asked interested parties to contact them.
--Editing by Rebecca Flanagan.
Update: This story has been updated with more information about Antler's finances.
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