Closure of store is confirmed despite £55m deal
One of Perth’s flagship stores will close after the company brand was bought over.
The Debenhams brand and website has been taken over by Boohoo in a deal worth £55 million.
But BooHoo will not take on any of the Debenhams stores across the country including the one on Perth High Street. It means all jobs at the shop will go. Perth City Centre councillor Peter Barrett said:“The Boohoo deal is the death knell for Debenham’s in-store staff and for the future of the High Street store chain.
“Boohoo, clearly, is only interested in Debenhams website and e-commerce operations, plus its customer database and possibly part of its supply chain.
“But there is no comfort or relief for the Perth store employees as all the remaining Debenham’s branches are to close and with the loss of all jobs, and supporting those workers back into employment is now the key priority.”
Perthshire North MP Pete Wishart was also disappointed with the news.
He said:“I understand that the Debenhams brand will live on in some form, but this will be of absolutely no comfort to staff members who will be losing employment with the company.
“This is a real blow for the High Street in Perth, as the store is such a major feature.
“I understand the last few years have been extremely tough for department store retailers, such as Debenhams, and the slump in sales caused by the pandemic appears to have been the final straw.
“This is deeply concerning and I will be asking for the relevant support to be put in place to help Debenhams employees at this very worrying time.”
Efforts to find a buyer has already failed with stores winding down from December.
Administrators FRP Advisory, said: “This transaction will allow a new Debenhams-branded business to emerge under strong new ownership, including an online operation and the opportunity to secure an international franchise network that will operate under licence using the Debenhams name.”
BooHoo’s executive chairman Mahmud Kaman, said:“This is a transformational deal for the group, which allows us to capture the fantastic opportunity as e-commerce continues to grow. Our ambition is to create the UK’s largest marketplace.”