A significant accounting error has left ‘I Saw It First’ missing crucial payroll data.
- The brand experienced an audit issue, losing nearly £7 million in wage information.
- Frasers Group’s acquisition processes did not secure payroll data onto new systems.
- Other Frasers-owned brands are also encountering similar auditing challenges.
- Frasers Group is simultaneously pursuing aggressive international expansion plans.
A recent audit revealed that ‘I Saw It First’, an online fashion brand owned by Frasers Group, is currently missing nearly £7 million in wages and salary payments data. This loss is attributed to an accounting system error during the company’s acquisition and integration into Frasers Group. According to sources, “a limited set of payroll data” was not transferred to Frasers Group’s systems, and the original system housing the data has since been decommissioned.
Frasers Group’s acquisition of ‘I Saw It First’ for £1 in July 2022 included a post-acquisition integration process that failed to migrate the crucial payroll information. This integration error resulted in auditors from Cooper Parry being unable to verify salary payments, presenting a significant challenge to the brand’s financial transparency.
This issue is not isolated to ‘I Saw It First’. Another brand under Frasers Group, Choice, is also reportedly missing vital information needed for audit purposes. Auditors from Hart Shaw have encountered difficulties completing their work due to the absence of this crucial data, highlighting a broader systematic issue within Frasers Group’s acquisition and integration processes.
Despite these challenges, Frasers Group continues to focus on expansion. The company has shared plans to broaden its reach internationally with the opening of new Sports World stores in the Netherlands, and Sports Direct outlets in Luxembourg and Belgium by the end of the year. In addition to international expansion, Frasers Group is also planning domestic growth through potential acquisitions such as the shopping center Fremlin Walk in Maidstone.
Frasers Group has chosen not to comment further on these issues. Nevertheless, the company’s broad expansion strategy signals a forward momentum, despite the data management setbacks faced by brands under its umbrella.
The issues faced by Frasers Group highlight critical challenges in data integration post-acquisition, amid ongoing expansion efforts.
