Orla Kiely, the Irish homeware and fashion brand has shuttered, after parent company Kiely Rowan PLC ceased operations, earlier this week.
The brand’s web site and brick-and-mortar stores — located in Covent Garden and King’s Road in London and Kildare in Ireland — have also stopped trading, with immediate effect.
According to British media reports, company employees were also made redundant without pay and escorted out of the building on Monday.
“We apologize for any inconvenience caused. Orla Kiely’s Home and Design licensing business will not be impacted and its selection of its homeware and accessories will continue to be sold through its distribution partners,” the company said, in a statement published on its web site. “Thank you for embracing our brand and designs throughout the year and for ongoing support.”
According to the latest company filings by Kiely Rowan on Companies House, the official registry for U.K. businesses, profits decreased to 74,000 pounds in 2017 compared with 109,000 pounds in the previous year.
Paul Appleton, managing partner at the consultancy David Rubin & Partners has been appointed to wind down Kiely Rowan and liquidate its assets.
A representative from David Rubin & Partners confirmed the news and said that Orla Kiely will be placed in voluntary liquidation: “Having carefully considered the options, the Directors of Kiely Rowan Plc have concluded that the business should be placed into creditors’ voluntary liquidation following various challenges that have faced the Company over the past few years, both in the UK and abroad,” said the statement.
Kiely was best known for her love of pattern and print, applied across her ready-to-wear and interiors collection. In May, London’s Fashion & Textile Museum celebrated her work, which spans two decades, in an exhibition titled “A Life in Pattern.” The show is set to close on Sept. 23.
Kiely is the latest British label to face difficulties navigating the modern retail landscape to end up winding down operations, following in the footsteps of Jigsaw, Austin Reed and Hobbs.