More than 50 stores are to be closed and 600 jobs axed by the company behind Peacocks and Edinburgh Woollen Mill.
50 EWM stores will go with Peacocks stores also earmarked for closure, reports The Mirror.
Days ago the EWM group, which also owns Jaeger and Ponden Home, filed notice to appoint administrators.
Steve Simpson, chief executive of the EWM group, said: "Like every retailer, we have found the past seven months extremely difficult.
"This situation has grown worse in recent weeks as we have had to deal with a series of false rumours about our payments and trading which have impacted our credit insurance.
"Traditionally, the group has always traded with strong cash reserves and a conservative balance sheet but these stories, the reduction in credit insurance - against the backdrop of the lockdown - and now this second wave of Covid-19 and all the local lockdowns, have made normal trading impossible.
"As directors we have a duty to the business, our staff, our customers and our creditors to find the very best solution in this brutal environment.
"So we have applied to court today for a short breathing space to assess our options before moving to appoint administrators."
He added: "Through this process I hope and believe we will be able to secure the best future for our businesses, but there will inevitably be significant cuts and closures as we work our way through this.
The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group, which is based in Langholm, Scotland, is owned by high street billionaire Philip Day.
His empire, which also owns Jacques Vert, Jaeger, Eastex, Austin Read and Windsmoor, acquired Peacocks in 2012, saving 388 stores, after the chain collapsed into administration.
