New Look to leave Belgium, China, France and Poland?

British fashion chain New Look is going through a difficult time: after closing its 130 stores in China, now its stores in Belgium, France and Portugal may follow suit.

China first victim of focus on Britain

New Look is going to focus primarily on the British home market, Retail Gazette writes. The chain is already pulling away from China: twenty stores have already closed and the announcement that real estate agent CBRE is looking for new tenants for the 130 Chinese New Look properties is expected to come sooner rather than later.

The decision is remarkable and probably costly, as former CEO Anders Kristiansen – formerly active with the Danish fashion holding Bestseller – was hired precisely because he had a lot of experience with China. He also worked out an ambitious expansion plan, which is now repealed.

Successor Alistair McGeorge is currently reviewing all New Look stores as his chain has lost more than 7 million pounds in foreign countries during the previous financial year, which ran until March. McGeorge is therefore considering leaving more countries, especially France, Poland and Belgium.