Deloitte, administrator for Entertainment UK, is looking to get the business back up and running, following reports a number of retailers had made alternative arrangements.
Dan Butters, reorganisation services partner at Deloitte, said: “We have held face to face meetings with the majority of customers and are engaged in constructive talks with both suppliers and customers to make arrangements to resume business.”
Earlier in the week E.UK customer Zavvi warned customers that its web site could not guarantee delivery of DVDs and CDs in the wake of the company going into administration.
In a statement on its web site, the music retailer said: “Regretfully, at this time we are therefore unable to fully guarantee the supply of DVD, music and games products to our customers (books remain unaffected). As you, our customers, remain our primary concern, particularly in the run up to Christmas, we have decided to suspend taking orders for these products while we work to resolve the situation and get back to normal.
“In addition, to avoid any uncertainty, we will be cancelling existing customer orders where delivery cannot be guaranteed. This will take place over the next few days…”
Supermarket Morrisons said it had made “alternative supply arrangements” to ensure it had availability for its customers, and Asda said it had begun to put contingency plans into action in light of the circumstances.
In addition, the administrators have confirmed today that Bertrams Books, a fully owned subsidiary of E.UK, and 2Entertain, a joint venture between E.UK and BBC Worldwide, are not in administration and continue to trade as usual.
With regard to Woolworths, Neville Kahn, reorganisation services partner at Deloitte, said: “We have received a substantial number of bids from parties interested in the Woolworths properties and have gone under offer on a large number of the stores.
“We are working as quickly as possible to assess proposals. We continue to work hard to ensure that any sale of the businesses, in whole or part, will preserve jobs. We are extremely grateful to the staff and management for their cooperation and support at this difficult time.”
