The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Scots Debenhams shut permanently
Debenhams cited the difference in guidance for nonessential retailers in Scotland and the rest of the UK for its decision to keep its Scottish stores closed.
The department store’s administrators yesterday announced plans to reopen shops in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for a brief period to sell off stock.
However, the Scottish Government’s guidance this week that non-essential retailers will open later than in other parts of the UK means its Scottish stores will remain closed.
Debenhams – which has shops in the Overgate Shopping Centre, Perth High Street and Dunfermline’s Kingsgate Shopping Centre – was bought from administration by online retailer Boohoo last month.
But the deal was just for the brand and website, not the physical stores.
The immediate Scottish closures have led workers being redundant.
The statement from Debenhams said: “Following the announcements of the plans for easing lockdown arrangements, Debenhams confirms that it intends to reopen its stores in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for a short period to complete its stock liquidation process as soon as government restrictions allow.
“In England this is expected to be no earlier than 12 April based on the latest government guidance.
“In Scotland, the government has stated that the reopening of nonessential stores will not begin until 26 April at the earliest and that this will then be on a tiered basis.
“Because this timeline does not align with those expected in other parts of the UK and therefore with the planned wind-down of to 647 made the Debenhams business, regrettably our 15 stores in Scotland will now not reopen and are closed permanently.
“As a result of these closures, all employees in our Scottish stores will be made redundant.
“A number of employees will be retained for a short period of time to support an orderly exit from the stores.
“The total number of Debenhams employees affected is 647.”
The department store had a total of 12,000 jobs and 118 stores in the UK.
It is one of the largest retail casualties of Covid-19.
Boohoo also bought the Arcadia brands Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton from administration.
Again, the deal was for the brands and online assets, not the shops.
This led to stores closing in Arbroath, Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline.
Geoff Rowley, joint administrator for Debenhams and partner of FRP Advisory, said: “We regret that Debenhams’ Scottish stores will not be able to reopen.
“We would like to thank all those employees affected for their commitment to Debenhams during what I know has been an extremely unsettling time.”
The Overgate Shopping Centre in Dundee is in talks with retailers interested in taking the prime Debenhams space.
Last month Tom Williams, fund manager, Legal & General Investment Management, which owns the Overgate, said: “Overgate is saddened to hear of the imminent closure of the Debenhams store. This is a significant blow to the retail provision in Dundee.
“Our thoughts are very much with the dedicated team of staff who have worked so hard throughout these challenging times.”