HOUSE OF FRASER JOBS FEARS
HOUSE of Fraser staff will find out in June whether their jobs are on the line after they were warned stores would close.
The majority ownership of the struggling department store chain, which has a branch in Cardiff, has been purchased by C.banner – the retailer behind Hamleys.
The takeover will see a store closure programme with the sale of the 51% stake conditional on House of Fraser shutting stores.
A spokesperson from House of Fraser said they could not confirm which stores will be affected by the closure programme but more details will be available once the chain’s restructuring plan, known as a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), is published in June.
Frank Slevin, chairman of House of Fraser, said C.banner’s acquisition was “a step to securing House of Fraser’s long-term future”.
He said: “C.banner’s investment is a vote of confidence in our prospects. We know that if we are to deliver a sustainable, long-term business then we need to make difficult decisions about our underperforming legacy stores.
“I am all too aware that this creates uncertainty for my colleagues in the business and so we will be transparent with them throughout the process.”
In January, House of Fraser suffered a drop in sales over Christmas and talks took place with landlords about reducing the size of its property portfolio.
KPMG has been drafted it to advise House of Fraser on its restructuring proposal, with the terms likely to be finalised at the beginning of June.
House of Fraser is a subsidiary of Sanpower, a Chinese conglomerate chaired by Yuan Yafei.
Mr Yuan has voiced his commitment to House of Fraser, which has 6,000 employees and 11,500 concession staff, and has been pumping millions of pounds into the retailer to keep it on an even keel.
Several household names have pursued CVAs so far this year in a bid to save costs, including New Look, Carpetright and burger chain Byron.
Howells, on St Mary Street in Cardiff, is one of Wales’ best known and historic department stores and was established by James Howell in 1956.
It was acquired by the House of Fraser group in 1972 and re-branded as House of Fraser in 2010.
The building itself is Grade II listed and has been used as a set for Doctor Who.