Housewares will have a diminishing place on the high street with the closures of 19 Debenhams stores starting this week (from January 11-19). The Department store chain has named the stores in its first round of closures for 2020.
The retailer’s “turnaround” plan could see a total of 50 closures over the course of the year. Debenhams chief executive Stefaan Vansteenkiste said: “We are working hard to implement the transformation of Debenhams. Despite a challenging retail environment, thanks to our colleagues’ hard work and our investor group’s commitment we are progressing with our turnaround.”
The stores to close are: Altrincham, Birmingham, Kirkcaldy, Walton-on-Thames, Wandsworth, Wolverhampton (all January 11), Chatham, Great Yarmouth, Slough, Stockton-on-Tees, Welwyn, Witney (all June 15), Ashford, Canterbury, Eastbourne, Folkestone and Southport (all January 19).
Top: Debenhams’ flagship Oxford store is not among closures.
