Debenhams to shut 50 stores as 4,000 staff face redundancy
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The group said the closures will take place over a three to five year period and the announcement comes alongside a dire set of financial figures.
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Hide AdDebenhams swung to a £491.5 million loss in the year to September 1 after being stung by exceptional write-downs of £512.4 million, primarily relating to store and lease provisions, IT costs and impairment charges.
The loss compares to a £59 million profit in 2017.
Boss Sergio Bucher said: “It has been a tough year for retail in 2018 and our performance reflects that. We are taking decisive steps to strengthen Debenhams in a market that remains volatile and challenging.
“We are taking tough decisions on stores where financial performance is likely to deteriorate over time.”
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Hide AdThe store closures will bring the Debenhams estate down to about 100 and come on top of 10 earmarked earlier this year.
As part of the shake-up, Mr Bucher will look to take £130 million of costs out of the business, including suspending the dividend.
Sales for the year also slipped 1.8% to £2.9 billion while like-for-like revenue fell 2.3%.
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Hide AdMr Bucher insisted: “Debenhams remains a strong and trusted brand with 19 million customers shopping with us over the past year.
“With a strengthened balance sheet, we will focus investment behind our strategic priorities and ensure that Debenhams has a sustainable and profitable future.”
Woes at Debenhams comes as a raft of retailers including New Look, Carpetright and Mothercare also embark on store closures programmes.
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Hide AdTo compound matters, Debenhams is also the subject of takeover talk, with speculation building that Mike Ashley is set to merge it with his newly-acquired House of Fraser.
Mr Ashley owns just under 30% of Debenhams, close to the threshold at which he must launch an official takeover bid.
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