Debenhams store in Foyleside safe during latest store closures
The Foyleside store is one of five the company have in the North of Ireland which have escaped closure as the troubled retailer announced 22 stores which will shut down in the UK.
The four other stores are Belfast’s CastleCourt, Craigavon’s Rushemre, Ballymena’s Fairhill and Newry’s Quays are all unaffected by the announcement today.
The stores expected to close in 2020 with the potential loss of 1,200 jobs are in Altrincham, Ashford, Birmingham Fort, Canterbury, Chatham, Eastbourne, Folkestone, Great Yarmouth, Guildford, Kirkcaldy, Orpington, Slough, Southport, Southsea, Staines, Stockton, Walton, Wandsworth, Welwyn Garden City, Wimbledon, Witney, Wolverhampton.
The group has announced a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), which will see the affected shops continue trading until early 2020.
Further closures could still be announced following discussions with landlords. Meanwhile rent reductions will be sought on many of the remaining branches.
Debenhams chief executive Terry Duddy said: “The issues facing the UK high street are very well known.
“Debenhams has a clear strategy and a bright future, but in order for the business to prosper, we need to restructure the group’s store portfolio and its balance sheet, which are not appropriate for today’s much-changed retail environment.
The beauty hall in Debenhams at Foyleside Shopping Centre
The retailer announced that it would pursue a restructuring last year, but the path for the process has now been cleared after control of the company was passed to its lenders.
Debenhams also released a financial update for the 26 weeks to March 2, showing that sales at its UK stores declined by 7.4% during the period due to weaker footfall.
Underlying earnings declined by 36.6% to £65.9 million.
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