MFI is to place between 90 and 100 of its 192 stores into administration this week, according to reports over the weekend, with a loss of more than 1,000 jobs. While Magnet Kitchens has informed its suppliers that they must accept a 5% reduction on all prices from this month on. Read more...
The move by MFI is understood to be part of a business restructuring designed to safeguard nearly two thirds of the company's 3,100-strong workforce.

Restructuring specialist Kroll are currently putting the final touches to the management buyout announced last week, led by chief exec Gary Favell. According to reports, Mr Favell has been in negotiations with the chain's landlords after last week's quarterly rent call. As part of the deals being tabled, landlords would sign new agreements with the MBO company but only if they agree to a three-month rent-free period.

The current economic pressures on retailers have hit the big ticket specialists especially hard as the stagnation in the housing market has decimated demand for their products. According to the Sunday Times, Magnet Kitchens' parent company Nobia UK, has written to suppliers saying that, in order to mitigate price pressures over the past year, they require a 5% reduction in costs.

Excerpts from the letter, published yesterday by The Sunday Times, quotes ceo Roy Saunders. "I appreciate that this is a significant and challenging request," he wrote, "but these are extremely challenging times, which require equally challenging solutions in order to sustain our long-term business objectives."