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M&Co.

M&Co. is a Scottish online retailer and former high street chain store selling women's, men's, and children's clothes, as well as small homeware products. Its head office is in Inchinnan, Scotland, though its main buying office is in Mayfair, London.[2][3] Previously, its head office was at Caledonia House in Paisley.[4] The company previously operated as Mackays Stores Limited until its 2020 administration, previously trading as Mackays.

Established in 1834 as pawnbrokers, Mackays switched to selling clothes in 1953 by brothers Len and Iain McGeoch. In 2005 the company rebranded as M&Co. to reflect a more modern image.[5] The chain operates over 300 stores and also has an online presence.[6] In 2023, it was announced that Yours Clothing Group had acquired the company.[7][8]

History

20th century

In 1953, Len and Iain McGeoch began converting their six pawnshops to clothing stores.[9] In 1970, the company acquired Ghinns Ltd, extending its retail clothing business in the London area.[10] In 1986, the company acquired Apparel Affiliates Inc., owner of 140 retail clothing stores in the United States.[11]

21st century

In 2005, the company began converting all 270 of its stores to the M&Co. banner.[5] In March 2012, the first of several international franchise stores opened, beginning with the first of many in Dubai at the Dubai Mall, with further UAE expansion planned.[12]

In June 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, M&Co was reported to have sought new backers amid a slump in sales. Professional services firm Deloitte supported its hunt for new investors as the company explored sale options including a pre-pack administration.[13] In December 2022, M&Co went into administration with Teneo Financial Advisory as administrators.[14] On 6 February 2023, it was announced that M&Co would be closing all 170 stores in the spring of the same year, with the last of them closing by the end of April.[15] In February 2023, it was announced that Yours Clothing Group had acquired the company.[7][8]

See also

  • Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on retail

External links

References

  1. Company Accounts 2019 retrieved 27 June 2019^
  2. Company History – M&Co. retrieved 15 February 2014^
  3. M&Co. – 20 Conduit Place, Paddington, London, W2 1HS retrieved 15 February 2014^
  4. Contact Us Mackays Stores, retrieved 1 February 2012^
  5. Mackays revamp pays off Clothing empire records seventh consecutive year of rising profits The Herald, Newsquest Media Group, 21 July 2006^
  6. Congratulations to M&Co who have risen 349 places in the retail Top 500 websites ranking tryzens.com, 13 February 2015, retrieved 7 November 2017^
  7. Emma Finamore. Andrew Killingsworth Drapers, 2023-12-06, retrieved 2025-06-09^
  8. M&Co relaunches website under new owner Retail Gazette, retrieved 2025-10-28^
  9. Co-founder Iain McGeoch hands over reins at M&Co The Scotsman, JPIMedia Publishing Ltd., 19 September 2015^
  10. Alasdair Northrop. THE BIG PROFILE: Twenty years at the top Insider, Insider Publications Ltd., 2 Mar 2009^
  11. Nancy M. Funk. Quakertown Retailer Seeks Chapter 11 Apparel Affiliates To Close Lady Bug, Paraphernalia Chains, Most Corner Houses The Morning Call, Times Mirror Company, 13 December 1989, retrieved 2022-01-06^
  12. Marc-Christian Riebe^
  13. Mark Kleinman. Coronavirus: Fashion retailer M&Co hunts new backers amid sales slump Sky News, 30 June 2020, retrieved 2 July 2020^
  14. Gemma Goldfingle. M&Co plunges into administration - Retail Gazette www.retailgazette.co.uk, 2022-12-10, retrieved 2022-12-10^
  15. Douglas Fraser. M&Co: Renfrewshire clothing chain to close all 170 stores www.bbc.co.uk, 2023-02-06, retrieved 2023-02-06^