Pentland to make around 100 redundancies as it reorganises business

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Nov 8, 2017

Pentland, the owner of sports and fashion brands including Berghaus, Speedo and Ellesse, has begun a redundancy consultation that could see around 100 jobs in its offices in Stockport and Wakefield axed as a result of a reorganisation.

The group announced on Wednesday that having its four Active brands (Speedo, Canterbury, Berghaus and Mitre) spread across four UK sites makes “little sense”, and has decided to move its operations in Stockport and Wakefield to its existing facilities in Nottingham and Sunderland in early 2018.

Nottingham will subsequently become the home of Speedo, Canterbury and Mitre, while Sunderland will continue as the home of Berghaus. While a number of employees in Stockport and Wakefield will be offered flexible working options, the company said this will not be feasible for the majority of its staff.

The announcement follows the reorganisation of the business into two divisions, Active and Footwear, last year, with changes made to simplify the company’s relationships with retailers and suppliers with the aim of maximising the potential of the brand portfolio and paving the way for future investments.

The Active division now includes Speedo, Canterbury, Berghaus and Mitre, while Ted Baker, Ellesse, Boxfresh, Kickers, KangaROOS and Red or Dead have been grouped together  under the Footwear business.

Andy Long, CEO, Pentland Brands Limited commented: “This reorganisation is in response to our retailer and partner need for us to simplify how we work with them.  It will help us to build our portfolio of active and footwear brands and support the smooth integration of future acquisitions into the Pentland family.”

The company is also launching SAP across the portfolio in early 2018 and introducing a new website where customers can place orders and check stock in real-time. Additionally, Pentland is investing in product innovation, new marketing initiatives and a new sales & planning function. 

Andy Long, CEO, Pentland Brands Limited, said: “Pentland brands are there in the moments that matter, from first steps to great achievements. As we head into the future, we want to be there for more people, in more of those moments. We are confident these changes will help us to do that.”

The company employs around 1,700 people globally.