Mothercare UK stores are set to close as the high street stalwart calls in the administrators.
Family-favourite high street store, Mothercare, has announced plans to call in the administrators as the business continues to lose money.
According to the BBC, a spokesperson for the brand revealed that Mothercare UK was “not capable of returning to a level of structural profitability and returns that are sustainable for the group”.
They added: “Furthermore, the company is unable to continue to satisfy the ongoing cash needs of Mothercare UK.”
2,500 jobs are said to be at risk as the retailer’s 79 stores in the UK could face closure before Christmas. While its said another announcement will be given regarding the company’s future in due course, the UK stores are continuing to trade as normal.
This comes after Mothercare previously closed 55 stores in the UK through a process called company voluntary arrangement.
In May 2018, Mothercare announced it was closing more than 50 stores across the UK in as part of a rescue plan.
At the time the retailer said it was in a ‘perilous’ financial position, and will have only 78 outlets remaining across the country by 2020.
Mothercare saw falling numbers of shoppers in the second half of the year, causing them to discount products to stimulate sales. Over the year, like-for-like sales fell by 1.3%. The retailer has nearly halved its store numbers in the UK over the last five years, and it hasn’t made a profit since 2012. The downturn is being blamed on cheaper competitors, the rising cost of staff and rents and the growth of online shopping.
In 2018 an online leak by property consultant Ditchfield Property revealed details of the stores set for closure.
List of Mothercare Stores Closing Down
- Kings Lynn
- Grafton Centre in Cambridge
- Clacton
- Holloway Road
- Bexley Heath
- Hounslow
- Wandsworth
- Brixton
- Sutton
- Croydon
- Colliers Wood
- Eltham
- Bromley
- Maidstone
- Brighton
- Worthing
- Guildford
- Aldershot
- Portsmouth
- Newbury
- Reading
- Salisbury
- Newport
- Weston Super Mare
- Yeovil
- Exeter
- Isle of Wight
- Plymouth
- Inverness
- Kirkcaldy
- Fort Kinnaird
- Coatbridge
- Bangor
- Londonderry
- North Shields
- Doncaster
- Bradford
- Harrogate
- Rotherham
- Crystal Peaks
- Llandudno
- Stockport
- Macclesfield
- Stafford
- Denton
- Blackburn
- Bedford
Other stores that are on the brink will try to agree rent reductions, but if an agreement cannot be met, then they will also face closure. These stores are in Dundee, East Kilbridge, Newtownabbey, Huddersfield, Altrincham, Meadowhall, Lincoln, Leicester, Peterborough, Aylesbury, Brent Cross, Wood Green, White City, Kew, Kingston, Orpington, Eastbourne, Worcester, Bristol, Oxford and Slough.
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