Adams Childrenswear
Encyclopedia
JS Childrenswear Ltd is a children's clothing
retailer, based in Nuneaton
, Warwickshire
in the United Kingdom
.
in 1933. She then opened another three stores in quick succession. Until 1973 Amy Adams and her son Michael ran the company independently, when they sold it to Foster Brothers. Ten years later Foster Brothers was itself acquired by Sears Holdings plc
.
Adams had over 200 stores by the 1980s, and by the 1990s it had become a key player in the childrenswear market.
The company opened its first international franchise in Saudi Arabia
in 1997. Further international stores were then opened in Cyprus
, Greece
, Republic of Ireland
, Finland
, India
and Slovakia
. In 1999 Sears was acquired by Sir Philip Green
who then agreed to a management buy out of Adams Childrenswear.
Adams has been making clothing under the Mini Mode brand for Boots since 2002. Mini Mode has 327 concessions and its own online store. Mini Mode Childrenswear Limited also entered administration on 21 January 2009, with Rob Jonathan Hunt, Stuart David Maddison and Michael John Andrew Jervis being appointed as joint administrators.
, with PricewaterhouseCoopers
handling the proceedings. Northern Irish businessman John Shannon bought Adams out of administration in February 2007. 42 of the stores were then closed. David Carter Johnson was appointed as Chief Executive. In January 2008 the "kids love fashion" branding was rolled out into all stores and store refits started in the UK and Ireland.
During the weekend of 28 December 2008 Adams announced that were again preparing to enter administration. At the time of the 2008 administration there were 260 stores in the UK and 116 outlets overseas, employing around 2000 people. PricewaterhouseCoopers were approached on 24 December to act as administrators again. Adams is reported to owe around £20 million to Mr Shannon and £10 million to Burdale
. The company entered administration on 31 December 2008. The Mini Mode brand was not affected by the administration at this time. 111 stores closed, shedding 850 jobs, but the administrators remained hopeful that Adams would still find a buyer. 160 of the stores then remained. On 26 January a further 36 stores were closed. 125 of the stores continued to trade, while the situation was assessed.
On 10 September 2009 it was announced that Adams was sold to a new a investment group under the name of Habib Alvi.
On 22 January 2010, it went in to administration for the third time.
On 8 February 2010. It has been announced that Mini mode will no longer exist. Mothercare is to buy out all of the branches which exist in Boots stores and they will design a completely new range which will only be sold in Boots stores.
Mothercare has exchanged contracts and all stores will become Mini Club from 1 September 2010 which will be Mothercare's new range for Boots.
In early 2010 Adams closed their few remaining stores and orders from the website ceased
Adams opened nine new outlets and planned to open many more, however by March 2011 the outlet details had been removed from their website and the outlets are likely to have closed. They have also reduced their clothing range, this could be due to the lack of orders from their website. As of 2011 the previous Adams kids logo now appears on their website.
In August 2010 Adams relaunched their website including their online store.
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
retailer, based in Nuneaton
Nuneaton
Nuneaton is the largest town in the Borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth and in the English county of Warwickshire.Nuneaton is most famous for its associations with the 19th century author George Eliot, who was born on a farm on the Arbury Estate just outside Nuneaton in 1819 and lived in the town for...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
History
Amy Adams started a children's clothing business from her own home in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
in 1933. She then opened another three stores in quick succession. Until 1973 Amy Adams and her son Michael ran the company independently, when they sold it to Foster Brothers. Ten years later Foster Brothers was itself acquired by Sears Holdings plc
Sears plc
Sears plc was a large British-based conglomerate. The Company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but it was acquired by Sir Philip Green in 1999.-History:...
.
Adams had over 200 stores by the 1980s, and by the 1990s it had become a key player in the childrenswear market.
The company opened its first international franchise in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
in 1997. Further international stores were then opened in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. In 1999 Sears was acquired by Sir Philip Green
Philip Green
Sir Philip Green is a British businessman. Green was born into a Jewish family in 1952, beginning as a businessman at the age of 15. The first and last quoted company Green took lead of was "Amber Day", from which he stepped down as CEO and Chairman in 1992...
who then agreed to a management buy out of Adams Childrenswear.
Mini Mode brand
2006 administration
In 2006 Adams went into administrationAdministration (insolvency)
As a legal concept, administration is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent entities and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – an alternative to liquidation – is often known as going...
, with PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers
PricewaterhouseCoopers is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest professional services firm measured by revenues and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms....
handling the proceedings. Northern Irish businessman John Shannon bought Adams out of administration in February 2007. 42 of the stores were then closed. David Carter Johnson was appointed as Chief Executive. In January 2008 the "kids love fashion" branding was rolled out into all stores and store refits started in the UK and Ireland.
2008 administration
Bank of Ireland
The Bank of Ireland is a commercial bank operation in Ireland, which is one of the 'Big Four' in both parts of the island.Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history...
. The company entered administration on 31 December 2008. The Mini Mode brand was not affected by the administration at this time. 111 stores closed, shedding 850 jobs, but the administrators remained hopeful that Adams would still find a buyer. 160 of the stores then remained. On 26 January a further 36 stores were closed. 125 of the stores continued to trade, while the situation was assessed.
2009 and beyond
On 15 February 2009, it was announced that former owner John Shannon, who also bought the company in 2006, would be taking it out of administration. The Adams brand will be retained.On 10 September 2009 it was announced that Adams was sold to a new a investment group under the name of Habib Alvi.
On 22 January 2010, it went in to administration for the third time.
On 8 February 2010. It has been announced that Mini mode will no longer exist. Mothercare is to buy out all of the branches which exist in Boots stores and they will design a completely new range which will only be sold in Boots stores.
Mothercare has exchanged contracts and all stores will become Mini Club from 1 September 2010 which will be Mothercare's new range for Boots.
In early 2010 Adams closed their few remaining stores and orders from the website ceased
2010-Present
In August 2010 Adams relaunched their website including their online store.Adams opened nine new outlets and planned to open many more, however by March 2011 the outlet details had been removed from their website and the outlets are likely to have closed. They have also reduced their clothing range, this could be due to the lack of orders from their website. As of 2011 the previous Adams kids logo now appears on their website.
Website
Around Christmas in 2005 Adams launched an online gift store, and a schoolwear store was launched the following January. The website was overhauled in August 2006. In July 2009 Adams rolled out a new design of the website incorporating the latest branding and introducing new functionality. Mini Mode also has an online store independent of the Boots website.In August 2010 Adams relaunched their website including their online store.