DEBENHAMS, which has a department store in the Kingfisher Shopping Centre, has announced it is to close up to 50 stores over the next three to five years.
The group has 165 branches and despite making a pre-tax profit of £33million in the year to September was hit by write-downs of £512million – where an asset has fallen below its market value.
The group had earlier indicated it planned to close ten stores but in a statement its chief executive Sergio Bucher said the extra 40 stores, although making a positive contribution now, were unlikely to remain profitable in the years ahead.
It is believed that if the company went ahead and closed all 50 stores up to 4,000 jobs could be at risk, although it said it hoped the number of compulsory redundancies could be kept to a minimum.
Debenhams in Redditch is the ‘anchor’ store for the Kingfisher Shopping Centre.
Were it to close it would follow the departure of Marks and Spencer which pulled down its shutters in the Kingfisher for the last time earlier this year.
