New Look is to close all its 120 shops in China by the end of the year after disappointing sales, as it continues to battle tough conditions on the UK high street.

The fashion chain, which persuaded landlords to back the closure of up to 60 of its 593 UK stores and rent reductions on dozens more via an insolvency process in March, said it was reviewing all its international markets.

The retailer said it had decided to withdraw from China, where it employs 730 people, just over four years after entering the country, because it had “not achieved the necessary sales and profitability to support the significant future investment required to continue operations”.

The closure of its Shanghai head office, expected in January, marks the end of an overseas expansion that was seen as a key part of the chain’s future under former boss Anders Kristiansen, who was partly hired for his expertise in China.

New Look currently has more than 300 stores overseas as far afield as Saudi Arabia, Libya, Malta and Poland, about two-thirds of which are run directly and the rest via franchise partners.

Maureen Hinton, at the retail analysis firm GlobalData, said the company was likely to consider closing the majority of its directly-owned overseas stores, except those in Ireland.

“The company needs to cut costs and these small businesses overseas are a costly distraction when they need to focus on differentiating themselves from everyone else in the UK,” she said.

China is New Look’s biggest overseas territory, in terms of store numbers, followed by the Middle East, where the group has 63 franchise outlets.

Alistair McGeorge, its executive chairman, said: “Having reviewed the trading performance of our business in China and the substantial investment required to continue operations in the market, we have made the difficult decision to exit our stores in China. As our turnaround plans continue, we remain focused on ensuring that New Look is well positioned to drive strong business performance and profitable growth.”

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McGeorge returned to lead the retailer late last year after sales and profits collapsed. He has said the previous management team led by Kristiansen pushed up prices and started selling clothes that were “too young and edgy”.

The chain is among a string of retailers to use a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) to close stores or cut rents, including Mothercare and Carpetright, as they face rising costs and a shift towards online sales. Consumers are diverting spending from homewares and clothing to experiences such as eating out or holidays.

Fashion retailers across northern Europe have also struggled as the summer heatwave sent young people to beaches and parks, rather than the high street, while the latest in a series of warm autumns has held back sales of knitwear and coats.