Thousands of jobs are at risk after bosses at clothing chains Peacocks and Jaeger failed to find a buyer for the troubled businesses.
The two companies were put into administration on Thursday afternoon after a two-week deadline to find a buyer passed.
Earlier this month, a spokesperson for owner EWM Group said they had been speaking to several potential buyers who were interested in parts of the business.
Jaeger runs 76 stores and concessions and has 347 employees while Cardiff-based Peacocks has 4,369 staff across 423 stores.
Tony Wright, joint administrator of the business from FRP Advisory, said: "Jaeger and Peacocks are attractive brands that have suffered the well-known challenges that many retailers face at present.
"We are in advanced discussions with a number of parties and working hard to secure a future for both businesses."
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No redundancies have been announced yet and no stores closed.
But earlier this year Peacocks store in Liverpool City Centre shut.
News Peacocks was planning to close its Liverpool store was first revealed last year where it was thought around 28 North West stores could be closing.
These included stores in Old Swan, Huyton, Birkenhead, Bromborough, Warrington and its city centre store.
