The presence of high street department store cookshops are set to diminish with the announcement of Debenhams’ preparations for closure.
On December 1, Debenhams’ administrators at FRP Advisory ‘regretfully concluded’ that they should ‘commence a wind-down of Debenhams UK, whilst continuing to seek offers for all or parts of the business.’ They thought that further restructure was unlikely due to trading conditions and the pandemic.
Debenhams will continue to trade through its 124 UK stores and online to clear its current and contracted stock. On conclusion of this process, if no alternative offers have been received, the UK operations will close. Magasin du Nord in Denmark will continue to operate independently.
Geoff Rowley of FRP Advisory, joint administrator to Debenhams 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.” Geoff thanked Debenham’s “suppliers and partners who have continued to work with Debenhams through this turbulent period,” reassuring them “that all contractual obligations entered into in the administration period will be met in full.”
Commenting on the news on BBC Radio 4, Sir Ian Cheshire (chairman of Debenhams from 2016 to 2019) reflected that there “was not enough time to change” and that multiple department store chains were often “caught in the wrong structure,” with, for example, “very long leases.”
Top: Oxford Street is one of Debenhams’ 124 stores.
