Victoria Beckham lays off 20 staff at fashion firm as sales plummet after pandemic
The multi-millionaire fashion designer has been forced to ‘future proof her brand’ after sales have been badly hit in the coronavirus pandemic
Victoria Beckham is ‘devastated’ after being forced to axe 20 staff at her fashion company.
Sales at the former Spice Girl’s business are said to have been hit badly by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the UK into lockdown for four months.
Victoria’s flagship London store was forced to close back in March.
The 46-year-old, who has a combined wealth of £330million with husband David, is also planning to halve the number of yearly fashion collections she releases to save cost.
The news is said to have left Victoria ‘devastated.’
A source told The Sun: “These are really tough times and no one is exempt from the pandemic’s clutches.
“This business is her pride and joy.
“It has never been about money. She hasn’t even paid herself for the past three years.”
The insider added that Victoria is doing all she can to keep as many of her staff in work as possible.
A spokesperson for Victoria told the Mirror: “Like so many businesses, a challenging retail landscape coupled with the unforeseen effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, has adversely impacted the Victoria Beckham business. As a response, we have built a new strategic vision to streamline and future-proof the brand and, very sadly, have to make a number of redundancies to deliver this.”
It comes after Victoria came under fire for using the government scheme to furlough 25 of her staff members.
After heavy criticism, the former singer underwent a dramatic U-turn and reversed the decision.
While Victoria’s brand is beloved by A listers including Meghan Markle, Beyonce and Gwyneth Paltrow, she has suffered with poor sales in recent years.
The Mirror previously reporte d how losses st Victoria Beckham Ltd grew by 20% in the year following December 2018.
Ralph Toledano, the chairman of the business, said sales of its clothing and accessories had stagnated during the period after years of growth.
In an interview with trade publication The Business of Fashion, he said: “The performance was in line with expectations, so we were not surprised. Our goal is to reach profitability as soon as possible.
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