M&Co.

For the design firm, see M & Co. (design firm).

M&Co Trading Limited

Trade name	M&Co
Company type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	1834; 190 years ago (1834) (high street) April 2023; 20 months ago (April 2023) (online)
Founder	Neil McGeoch (pawnbroker) Len and Iain McGeoch (clothing)
Defunct	April 2023; 20 months ago (April 2023) (as a standalone store)
Headquarters	Inchinnan, Scotland, UK
Area served	United Kingdom Continental Europe Middle East
Key people	Andy McGeoch (Chief Executive Officer)[1]
Revenue	£193 million (2019)[2]
Operating income	£(106,000) (2019)[2]
Net income	£(888,000) (2019)[2]
Owner	Iain McGeoch (90%)
Number of employees	3900+ [3] (2019)
Website	www.mandco.com

M&Co Trading Limited, trading as 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,^[4] though its main buying office is in London.^[3][5] Previously, its head office was at Caledonia House in Paisley.^[6] 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.^[7] The chain operates over 300 stores and also has an online presence.^[8]

M&Co. closed all of its stores in April 2023 and moved to a sole online company.

History

19th century

In 1834, the McGeoch family founded a pawnbroker business in Paisley, Renfrewshire.^{[citation needed]}

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

M&Co shop in a mall in Dubai, UAE

In 2005, the company began converting all 270 of its stores to the M&Co. banner.^[7]

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 2023.^[15]

See also

• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on retail

References

1. Nickalls, Amy (6 November 2017). "M&Co to open the store in Hempstead Valley this weekend". kentonline.co.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
2. "Company Accounts 2019". Retrieved 27 June 2019.
3. "Company History – M&Co". Retrieved 15 February 2014.
4. "Contact Us". M&Co. Retrieved 1 February 2012. M&Co Web Team Caledonia House 5 Inchinnan Drive Inchinnan Business Park Inchinnan Renfrew PA4 9AF
5. "M&Co. – 20 Conduit Place, Paddington, London, W2 1HS". Retrieved 15 February 2014.
6. "Contact Us". Mackays Stores. Archived from the original on 29 April 2005. Retrieved 1 February 2012. Mackays Stores Ltd Caledonia House, Caledonia Street, Paisley, PA3 2JP
7. "Mackays revamp pays off Clothing empire records seventh consecutive year of rising profits". The Herald. Newsquest Media Group. 21 July 2006.
8. "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.
9. "Co-founder Iain McGeoch hands over reins at M&Co". The Scotsman. JPIMedia Publishing Ltd. 19 September 2015.
10. Northrop, Alasdair (2 March 2009). "THE BIG PROFILE: Twenty years at the top". Insider. Insider Publications Ltd.
11. Funk, Nancy M. (December 13, 1989). "Quakertown Retailer Seeks Chapter 11 Apparel Affiliates To Close Lady Bug, Paraphernalia Chains, Most Corner Houses". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania: Times Mirror Company. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
12. Marc-Christian Riebe Retail Market Study 2013, p. 407, at Google Books
13. Kleinman, Mark (30 June 2020). "Coronavirus: Fashion retailer M&Co hunts new backers amid sales slump". Sky News. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
14. Goldfingle, Gemma (10 December 2022). "M&Co plunges into administration - Retail Gazette". www.retailgazette.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
15. Fraser, Douglas (6 February 2023). "M&Co: Renfrewshire clothing chain to close all 170 stores". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2023.

External links

• M&Co. – official site
• Mackays (archive)