Western Daily Press

Debenhams to reopen stores for one final sale

- HEATHER PICKSTOCK heather.pickstock@reachplc.com

DEBENHAMS will be reopening all its stores for one final closing down sale next week. The retailer, which has operated stores in Bristol, Gloucester, Bath and Taunton, will open stores for between three and five weeks depending on the stock clearance before they close for good.

And shoppers will be able to grab a bargain – with discounts of up to 70 per cent off fashion and home as well as up to 50 per cent off beauty items.

Debenhams announced administra­tors had begun the liquidatio­n process back in December.

They explained that the “extremely challengin­g” economic landscape paired with uncertaint­y in retail meant a deal could not be reached.

Last year, Geoff Rowley of FRP Advisory, joint administra­tor to Debenhams and Partner at FRP, said: “All reasonable steps were taken to complete a transactio­n that would secure the future of Debenhams.

“However, the economic landscape is extremely challengin­g and, coupled with the uncertaint­y facing the UK retail industry, a viable deal could not be reached.

“The decision to move forward with a closure programme has been carefully assessed and, while we remain hopeful that alternativ­e proposals for the business may yet be received, we deeply regret that circumstan­ces force us to commence this course of action.

“We are very grateful for the efforts of the management team and staff who have worked so hard throughout the most difficult of circumstan­ces to keep the business trading.

“We would also like to thank the landlords, suppliers and partners who have continued to work with Debenhams through this turbulent period and can reassure them that all contractua­l obligation­s entered into in the administra­tion period will be met in full.”

Following the announceme­nt, a massive sale was launched online with discounts up to 70 per cent off.

Shoppers will be able to see similar offers in-store from Monday where the shops will reopen for the last time as restrictio­ns are eased on April 12.

Debenhams first began as a draper business at 44 Wigmore Street in London in 1778 before rebranding as Debenhams Limited in 1905.

The company then started buying existing department stores across the country, including Harvey Nichols in Knightsbri­dge in 1920.

In 1928, it was listed on the London stock exchange for the first time and by 1950, Debenhams became the largest department store group in the UK. At that stage, it owned 84 companies and 110 stores.

In more recent years, however, the popular chain was battered by online shopping. In 2018, Debenhams announced its largest ever pretax loss of £491 million and the closure of up to 50 stores putting 4,000 jobs at risk.

The company fell into the hands of its lenders, a group of banks and hedge funds led by US firm Silver Point Capital earlier this year, and in April 2020 it went on the market. The deal with JD Sports collapsed on December 1.

 ??  ?? Debenhams announced administra­tors had begun the liquidatio­n process in December
Debenhams announced administra­tors had begun the liquidatio­n process in December

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