The collapse of high street stalwart BHS with the potential loss of 11,000 jobs across the UK is a devastating blow to all those directly affected and will send shockwaves through the retail sector.
It was no surprise that the business was in difficulty. In March, creditors backed two company voluntary arrangements designed to cut costs and prevent numerous store closures.
However, yesterday the firm announced it had no alternative but to go into administration and would continue to trade as normal while the administrators seek to sell it as a going concern.
This news marked the biggest failure in the retail sector since the closure of Woolworths in 2008 and there are parallels for BHS with that collapse.
Both names were long established, in the case of British Homes Stores it was set up in 1928 and enjoyed enormous expansion in the 1970s.
But despite being bought by Sir Philip Green and incorporated into his Arcadia group, which includes Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Burton, the brand failed to flourish in a highly competitive market.
Like Woolworths, it began to look a bit dowdy compared to brighter, fresher and more dynamic shops on the high street and it seemed confused as to its target market.
After years of heavy losses, BHS was sold to Retail Acquisitions Limited for £1 in March last year but hopes of keeping the business afloat seem to have been scuppered by a massive pensions deficit.
This is a very tough time for the hundreds of people who work for the company in Northern Ireland who have been left in a deeply uncertain position, worried not just about their jobs but also their pensions.
The collapse of a major name also sends out a bleak message to retailers trying to maintain a high street presence in the face of an online shopping boom.
The way we shop is changing and the challenge for business is responding to those changes.
