- House of Fraser to close 31 of its 59 stores across the UK as part of rescue deal
- Around 6,000 jobs are expected to be lost by the move, announced this morning
- Flagship stores Oxford Street, Edinburgh and Cardiff among those set to close
- Retail giant is latest casualty as high street to struggles to compete with online
- Is YOUR job at risk by the closure? Please email katie.french@mailonline.co.uk
House of Fraser's owners have announced 6,000 employees are at risk of losing their jobs as they plan to close more than half of their stores.
The retailer today revealed 31 of its 59 shops - including its flagship Oxford Street store - would shut as part of a rescue deal to keep some of its smaller branches trading.
Workers at Oxford Street only found out they stand to be made redundant this morning - hours after the news by the company's Chinese proprietors had been broken.
Employees are reportedly 'devastated' with the shock disclosure while one customer poignantly commented outside one outlet this afternoon: 'the days of department stores are gone'.
Embattled department store chain House of Fraser is closing more than half of its stores in a bid to save the company - putting 6,000 jobs at risk (Pictured: The flagship store on London's Oxford Street which is set to close)
This is the latest big-name blow to the British high street which is facing crisis as chains increasingly are shutting stores to focus on online sales.
Budget retailer Poundworld revealed on the same day it is heading into administration, putting 5,300 people's jobs at risk.
The retail sector is Britain's biggest employer with 4.6million working in the industry.
But in recent years as shoppers move online, jobs have increasingly been put as risk with the likes of New Look and Marks and Spencer announcing store closures this year and Maplin and Toys R Us closing altogether.
House of Fraser is expected to be the first of many big names to announce closures this year with experts predicting up to 10,000 further stores will shut their doors by the end of 2018.
The firm, brought by Chinese firm Sanpower for £480million in 2014, will shut its flagship store on Oxford Street as well as branches in Edinburgh, Birmingham and Milton Keynes. Wales will be left with no remaining stores as both the Cardiff and Cwmbran branches are set for closure.
The company is understood to have agreed a restructuring plan which will see all but its most modern stores, and those in large shopping centres, close.
This map shows the House of Fraser stores set to close (in red) and remaining open (green)
Closing: The Leeds branch of the retailer - a prominent store in the city's centre - will shut its doors later this year
Closure of House of Fraser marks end of era for the British high street
Pictured: Businessman Sir Hugh Fraser
Department store chain House of Fraser is shutting more than half of its stores as the carnage on the high street shows no sign of slowing down.
The retailer has a history stretching back almost 170 years and is one of the country's best-known fashion brands.
The retail giant began with a single drapery shop, opened in Glasgow by Hugh Fraser and James Arthur in 1849.
It grew steadily, becoming House of Fraser in 1941, then took hold as a national chain after the Second World War.
Over the years, the business has acquired numerous companies, including Harrods, which is now privately owned.
House of Fraser has been owned by Egyptian-born billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed and before that by the Fraser family, from which it takes its name.
It was bought by Chinese conglomerate Sanpower Group for £480 million in 2014.
Like other retailers, House of Fraser has struggled over the past few years as stiff competition from online rivals and the slump in consumer confidence have knocked the firm.
It forced Sanpower to seek outside help in the form of a stake sale to Hamley's owner C.banner.
Before today's announcement, the group had 59 locations across the UK and Ireland, and employed around 5,000 people directly and 12,500 concession staff.
Jobs will be cut significantly, with closures set to affect up to 2,000 staff and a further 4,000 concession workersHouse of Fraser said the planned closures come as part of a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) - a controversial insolvency procedure in vogue among stAt least 75 per cent of creditor approval is needed, with the vote set to take place on June 22.
If the CVA is approved by landlords, it will affect up to 2,000 House of Fraser staff and a further 4,000 across brands and concessions.
House of Fraser said the shops earmarked for closure would remain open until early 2019.
Alex Williamson (pictured left), chief executive of House of Fraser and Frank Slevin (right) chairman of House of Fraser
The group said it also plans to relocate its Baker Street head office and the Granite House office in Glasgow to help slash costs and 'secure House of Fraser's future'.
House of Fraser stressed that the group will continue to trade 'as normal' online and through stores ahead of the CVA vote and throughout the proposal.
Eager shoppers queued outside one House of Fraser shop on Thursday morning waiting for the store to open - while staff inside were being told they no longer had jobs.
The store in Birkenhead, open for six decades, was one of those to be closed - another blow for the shipbuilding town on the Mersey.
A notice in the window told customers that 'due to unforeseen circumstances' the shop would be opening at 10.30am and apologised for any inconvenience.
As staff inside were being told of the closure, a group of mainly elderly shoppers outside discussed the news.
Above: A model poses in clothes from House of Fraser for the store's Spring catalogue in 2001
Out of fashion: House of Fraser is closing more than 50 per cent of its stores (above, a model posing in an outfit for the store's 2003 Autumn catalogue)
Doreen Gibson, 81, from Greasby, Wirral, said: 'We've been coming here every two weeks for 25 years. We meet our friends and have a coffee in the restaurant and a bit of shopping.
'It is devastating. They are all shopping online now, all the younger ones, that's what's ruining it all. Some people still like to go and see what they are going to buy.
'Honestly, it's really, really terrible news.'
Gaynor Smith, 70, from Birkenhead, said: 'It's terrible, they are all closing down.
'The girls in there, we know them, they have got mortgages, they will be devastated.
'There's nothing left in this town, we will have to go to Liverpool to shop.
'It's getting like no one will be able to go out to shop and talk to each other any more. You can do it online and there's no shops left.'
Changes: A pedestrian pictured passing by the Middlesbrough House of Fraser store which is also earmarked for closure
High street in crisis: Experts forecast some 10,000 shops in the UK will close by the end of 2017
Dannielle Golding, from Oxton, Wirral, shopping with her son, Elliot, two, said: 'I think the days of department stores are gone now.
'It's very sad for the staff. Just in Birkenhead alone there's lots closing, we've had Marks & Spencer close recently, Dorothy Perkins and now this, loads have gone.'
After the shop opened, shopper Angela Sharkey, from Birkenhead, emerged to say she had spoken to staff inside.
'The lady inside who I spoke to said, 'We only found out this morning. We are all disguasted',' Mrs Sharkey said.
She had been shopping there for 60 years.ruggling retailers.
The retailer is also asking for a 25 per cent rent cut on 10 of the stores that it plans to keep open.
Landlords, who must vote through the plan, have already expressed serious concerns about the proposals and met on Tuesday to discuss how to respond to House of Fraser.
First the stores close and those with out jobs lose mostly everything, As it continues the on line marketers will suffer
ReplyDeleteas there will not be enough people with money to support them.
It is the beginning of the end of society as we knew it.