DEBENHAMS left the high street for good in 2021 after struggling to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
The historic high street chain suffered slumping sales and fell into administration within weeks of the virus hitting the UK.
1
When did Debenhams close in the UK?
In April 2019 Debenhams first went into administration, wiping out equity investors – including Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct.
The move saw 50 stores shut permanently, as well as rents reduced across dozens of other branches.
While the business continued to trade it was forced to shut several stores along the way.
The retailer then fell into administration for the second time in April 2020.
It was at this time the popular high street store announce it would be closing seven UK stores and cutting 422 jobs.
At this time Debenhams UK store were closed in line with government guidance following the coronavirus outbreak.
But the retailer said it would “work to re-open and trade as many stores as possible” when restrictions were lifted.
However, its Irish business, which was made up of 11 stores and employed around 1,400 staff ceased trading.
The retailer staggered the closure of its branches and announced the first round.
The first round included 22 stores in the following locations:-
- Altrincham
- Ashford
- Birmingham Fort
- Canterbury
- Chatham
- Eastbourne
- Folkestone
- Great Yarmouth
- Guildford
- Kirkcaldy
- Orpington
- Slough
- Southport
- Southsea
- Staines
- Stockton
- Walton
- Wandsworth
- Welwyn Garden City
- Wimbledon
- Witney
- Wolverhampton
Then in an announcement on April 9, 2020, Debenhams revealed its 11 Republic of Ireland branches won’t reopen when lockdown restrictions lifted.
Following these closures, Debenhams went on to announce another seven closures on April 17.
These stores were as follows:
- Leamington Spa
- Salisbury
- South Shields
- Stratford-Upon-Avon
- Truro
- Warrington
- Westfield in west London
On April 25, the department chain announced another four stores would be closing down for good.
This included:
- Borehamwood
- Kidderminster
- Southampton
- Swindon
It announced the closure of its flagship Oxford Street shop in January 2021.
Customers were able to take advantage of some big discounts with prices slashed by up to 80% in the closing down sales.
On May 15, 2021, all Debenhams stores closed for good.
Why did Debenhams shut down?
In April 2019 Debenhams first went into administration, wiping out equity investors – including Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct.
The retailer then fell into administration for the second time in April 2020.
Tough high street conditions and the impact of coronavirus both contributed to the retail giant’s demise.
It is also understood that the collapse of the business was partly linked to the administration of Arcadia Group.
Arcadia was the biggest operator of concessions in Debenhams stores and went into administration on November 30, 2020.
Stefaan Vansteenkiste, chief executive officer of Debenhams, said at the time: “The appointment of the administrators will protect our business, our employees, and other important stakeholders, so that we are in a position to resume trading from our stores.
“We are desperately sorry not to be able to keep the Irish business operating but are faced with no alternative option in the current environment.”
The high street chain was bought by Boohoo in January 2021 in a £55million deal that only included the retailer’s name and website.
