LONDON (Reuters) - Jaeger, whose clothes were worn by Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, has filed an intention to enter administration, putting some 700 jobs at risk in the latest blow to the British retailer founded in 1884.
A person familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday that Jaeger had filed the notice to enter a form of creditor protection to buy it some breathing space after investment group Better Capital sold the retailer's debt to another company.
Jaeger, which has been linked with many major events in British history, fell into administration in 2012 before being bought by Better Capital. The source said that Jaeger, which declined to comment, needed to establish the intentions of its new debt owner and to look for alternative options.
From providing clothing for Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition, to donating blankets during the First World War and supplying uniforms for Olympic opening parades, Jaeger is perhaps best known for dressing some of the most famous women in the world in the 1950s and 1960s.
But the company, known for its long woollen coats and classic suits, has struggled in recent decades to stand out on the British high street and has been forced to repeatedly discount stock in a bid to prop up sales.
Earlier this week a second source confirmed that Better Capital had sold Jaeger's debt to an unnamed company and its directors had stepped down.