Publishing News has its report on the bankruptcy of music chain Fopp, starting out with the news that suppliers are claiming ‘retention of title’ on the stock, in an attempt to recover debts, after the chain fell into receivership last week. A spokesperson for Ernst & Young, which is handling the music chain’s receivership, said: “There have been enquiries from interested parties but interest in the business as a going concern is poor so far. Any parties who are interested in the business need to contact us as early as possible as our timeframe is in terms of days rather than weeks.”
Publishers spoken to have expressed regret at the chain’s closure and concern about the money owed, while emphasizing that the sums involved are relatively small compared to what’s owed to DVD and music companies – somewhere on the order of 10 to 20 million pounds. Complicating matters, the decision of suppliers to claim ‘retention of title’ on much of Fopp’s stock – where the supplier claims ownership on goods until they have been paid for – could further dampen any enthusiasm to buy the business as a whole. David Stoddart at Teather & Greenwood saw some hope for individual stores being bought, although was less optimistic about the chain as whole, while Richard Ratner at Seymour Pierce echoed this and added: “It’s a very difficult business and you do need economies of scale. Fopp’s turnover together with its large number of stores didn’t provide that. It is still possible that someone might want to take the whole lot, if unlikely given the current climate. One or two sites could interest HMV, although they may want to downsize at the moment. It’s a bleak picture.”