Debenhams makes record annual loss and plans up to 50 store closures
Is Debenham's going to the wall?? Is this early signs of another UK high street retailer leaving our streets. Hwta does the future hold for a high streets? currently it looks bleak...
Debenhams has posted record annual losses and said it will close up to 50 stores, putting 4,000 jobs at risk.
In the year to September the department store group lost £491.5m, against profits of £59m the year before.
Debenhams, which has 165 branches, previously said it planned to close 10 stores.
Boss Sergio Bucher said the company was "taking tough decisions" on stores where financial performance was likely to deteriorate over time.
The retailer is not releasing a list of the stores at risk of closure.
Mr Bucher said in a statement that the additional 40 stores earmarked for closure were "currently contributing positively" to the business, but added: "However, rolling forward current trends, we do not believe they will remain profitable in future years and therefore we intend to exit these stores over the next 3-5 years."
The BBC understands about 4,000 jobs could be affected by the changes, but Debenhams said it hoped there would be a "minimum" of compulsory redundancies and that some of the departures would be people who would have left the business anyway.
Read on (source and credit)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45975321
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