Links of London To Close All Canadian Stores

Well, another one bites the dust. It seems that 2020 is looking like another rocky year for retail with the news that jewellery retailer Links of London will close all of its Canadian stores.

Retail-Insider reports that Links of London has been struggling financially after it misreported its revenues and as a result, was given some hefty fines.

links of london
Square One Shopping Centre

You may remember that the jewellery brand used to have a home within Holt Renfrew stores. This was until 2016 because Holts wanted to dedicate more retail space to higher-end luxury brands like Fendi and Gucci. Links of London then chose to expand within Canada and open stores where there were existing Holt Renfrew locations.

While this is sad news for fans of the brand, if you’ve been following the brand’s journey, it isn’t exactly a surprise.

links of london
Instagram/@ramsbottomdressingroom

In March 2019, the brand was experiencing a major financial struggle and 500 jobs were in jeopardy. The company then appointed a new creative director with the hopes of turning things around. Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan as the new partner company for Links of London, Folli Follie, was fined €20 million for overstating its revenue by €1 billion.

Because of all the financial drama, the brand has had a lot of trouble finding investors. In addition, even the quality of its products has been brought into question.

In October of last year, the retailer started liquidating some of its stores in the United States and the United Kingdom where it has approximately 28 stores.

links of london
Instagram/@linksoflondon

Even without the aforementioned difficulties, the retail game is not an easy one to play. Major brands like Forever 21, Bentley Leathers, Home Outfitters, and Town Shoes, to name a few have closed down shop.

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