Scotch & Soda: All UK stores reportedly closing following rescue

Dutch fashion retailer Scotch & Soda will reportedly close all four of its stores in the UK this summer after being rescued by American brand management company Bluestar Alliance in March.

Three stores will close in the coming weeks - in London’s Old Spitalfields Market, Covent Garden, and on Carnaby Street - while another store in Westfield London closed earlier this month, Drapers reports, citing unnamed sources.

FashionUnited has contacted Bluestar Alliance for comment.

The news comes after Scotch & Soda was rescued by Bluestar after filing for bankruptcy for its Dutch operations earlier this year.

The Amsterdam-based retailer said at the time that the pandemic and high inflation forced it to declare bankruptcy despite reporting record sales of 342.5 million euros in FY21/22.

It said the last lockdown in the Netherlands from December 2021 to January 2022 was “particularly damaging” as the business tried to recover from the pandemic.

In May, Bluestar announced the acquisition of Scotch & Soda’s US wholesale and retail business assets through a separate affiliate.

In the same announcement, Bluestar named Anthony Lucia as global president of Scotch & Soda USA and global business operations.