Kwik Save enters administration

Kwik Save, the ailing supermarket chain, went into administration today with the loss of about 1,000 jobs. The company will close more than 90 stores and transfer a further 56 into a new group thought to be called Fresh Express.

The retailer does not have a marketing department or a marketing director and outsources all of its marketing and PR activity to The Think Tank agency.

The Huddersfield-based group initially closed 79 branches on May 30 before reopening 20 earmarked for closure just weeks later. Days after the reopening it closed a further 22 stores, axing 35% of its portfolio.

Kwik Save has struggled in recent years since it was sold by supermarket group Somerfield and has seen its market share drop to just 0.2% in the face of competition from low-cost European retailers such as Aldi and Lidl.

Kwik Save appointed consultants KPMG in May to help find new funding. It had already secured a £50m refinancing deal earlier in the year.