Boohoo buys Debenhams brand and website for £55m – but stores set to close January 25, 2021 Online retail giant Boohoo has announced it will buy Debenhams’ brand and website for £55m, but will not rescue the high street chain’s stores or jobs. The deal – announced this morning – means Debenhams’ remaining 118 department stores will close down and could result in up to 12,000 job losses. Boohoo said the acquisition [...]
Debenhams closes six stores including Oxford Street flagship January 13, 2021 Debenhams has permanently closed six department stores, including its flagship site in Oxford Street, due to the third national lockdown. The retailer had planned to reopen the stores to sell off remaining stock, but the introduction of new Covid-19 restrictions means that sites where it was unable to secure lease extensions will close. The closures [...]
Post-Christmas footfall plummets as UK shoppers avoid high street January 4, 2021 Footfall across Britain’s high streets plunged almost a quarter last week as Boxing Day sales failed to lure shoppers from their sofas, according to the latest data. The number of Brits hitting the shops fell more than 23 per cent in the seven days after Christmas compared with the week before, latest Springboard figures showed. [...]
Authentic Brands in talks over double swoop for Arcadia and Debenhams – report December 13, 2020 US retail giant Authentic Brands is planning an audacious double swoop for collapsed Arcadia and Debenhams in a deal that would transform the high street. The firm, which recently took over historic New York department store Barneys, is in talks with the administrators of the two companies this weekend. The Sunday Telegraph reported that the [...]
Stephan Shakespeare: Could Mike Ashley bring in customers to save Debenhams? December 9, 2020 Customers of Mike Ashley’s Fraser’s Group are typically more likely to consider buying from struggling department store Debenhams, YouGov research has revealed. It has been a tough year for retail but Debenhams has been hit particularly hard, with several of its stores closing their doors in May. Now, liquidators have been brought in to start [...]
Collapsed Debenhams claimed £40.5m of taxpayer cash via furlough scheme December 3, 2020 Collapsed Debenhams claimed £40.5m of taxpayer cash via furlough scheme
MPs call for retail sector support following ‘dark week’ for high street December 2, 2020 MPs have called on business secretary Alok Sharma to announce what support will be given to the high street following a “dark week” for the retail sector, which has seen more than 25,000 jobs put at risk. Darren Jones MP, chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) Committee, asked for detail on the [...]
Debenhams closure: What next for struggling retail landlords? December 1, 2020 Retail landlords are set to take a multimillion pound hit following the collapse of Debenhams and Arcadia’s fall into administration, and could struggle to fill the space left by closed flagship stores. Many property owners, which have already been impacted during the pandemic due to a spike in retail restructurings and renegotiated rents, will lose [...]
Debenhams closure: Timeline of department store chain’s collapse December 1, 2020 Department street chain Debenhams announced this morning that it is preparing to close down after failing to attract a buyer, but the former high street giant’s problems stretch back over several years. Earlier this year the struggling retailer entered administration for the second time in 12 months, even before Covid-19 forced it to close its [...]
JD Sports to quit Debenhams rescue talks today December 1, 2020 JD Sports is expected to pull out of rescue talks with high street department store Debenhams today. The sports retailer was the last remaining bidder for Debenhams, which is in administration, and up until last week was ready to go ahead with the deal, according to the BBC. The recent collapse of Arcadia is understood [...]