JHP and Section D formats under threat

The future for store formats designed by John Herbert Partnership and Section D for fashion chain Fosters Menswear is unclear, since the chain went into voluntary administration last week.

JHP has had a long relationship with Fosters, developing store formats before and after it was sold by retail giant Sears. The group was brought back last year to update the format it created in 1991 (DW 28 February 1997).

Section D has been working on The Lounge, an alternative format for the Fosters chain.

A spokeswoman for BDO Stoy Hayward, administrator to the retailer, says changing fashions caused customers to look elsewhere while Fosters continued to concentrate on denim and casual ranges. No decision on the future of The Lounge or Fosters brands has been made, but the immediate effects of the administration mean at least 50 stores will close.