Staff shocked as Leekes to close
HOME department chain Leekes is to quit its flagship store near Nuneatonafter agreeing a deal to sell the vast site just off the A444.
The family-owned business has broken the news to “shocked” staff that the superstore will shut its doors for the last time in mid-January and promised to fulfil customers’ existing orders.
It did not specify if any jobs were at risk but praised staff for their “extremely professional” response to the news. There were 110 people employed at the superstore, close to J3 of the M6, in 2013.
Leekes’ other stores, including in Bilston in the West Midlands, will continue to trade as normal.
Leekes blamed the closure on a lack of companies wanting concession space at what is currently its largest retail site, which has hosted a number of celebrity chefs. Leekes’ website says the store has more than “185,000 square feet and 300,000 products across 50 departments”.
The giant store was created when Leekes relocated from its Bedworth base to the former Makro distribution centre on the Gallagher Business Park. It had enjoyed double digit sales growth in recent years.
Managing director Emma Leeke said: “A challenging retail environment has resulted in the loss of a number of concession partners and in the absence of suitable replacements we began to consider options to subdivide the building to enable us to look to share our site with a wider range of possible occupiers who could not be accommodated within our own instore offer.
“During this process we started discussions with another business looking to expand further in the Midlands who was interested in the location of our store. Having reviewed their options, this business concluded that a subdivided site would not enable them to achieve the scale they needed but that they were interested in making the purchase of the whole site.
“Following very careful consideration about the future potential of the store in light of the limited availability of concession partners, the board of directors have reluctantly concluded that accepting the offer to purchase the site is in the best interests of the overall business.
“We are in the process of contacting our current customers to confirm that the orders they have placed will be delivered as planned and guaranteed as normal with our head office able to answer any queries after the closes in January.”
The company director also paid tribute to staff as the news was made public today.
She said: “The team were understandably shocked by the news but understood the reasons for the business’ decision. They were extremely professional in their response and are committed to delivering a great clearance sale. We will be working with them to help them find future employment in the months before the store closes in the new year.”
The 120-year-old independent business, which is headquartered in South Wales, opened the store in 2012.
Retail space covering 180,000 sq ft also hosts concession partners such as Hammonds and Cotswold Outdoor.
The store houses 300,000 products, a restaurant and a cookery theatre with the likes of Gino D’Acampo, having given demonstrations. A final sale will run between December 6 and January 14. store