Clintons to close 350 stores
Nearly half of the stores operated by collapsed greeting card retailer Clinton Cards are to close with the loss of 2,800 jobs.
Administrators Zolfo Cooper said yesterday that around 350 stores will close including all of the Birthdays branded chain and 200 Clinton Cards stores.
The store closure programme will begin next week and continue into June with 2,800 full and part-time staff expected to lose their jobs.
Joint Administrator and partner at Zolfo Cooper, Peter Saville, said the closures were necessary to stabilise the company’s financial position with a view to preserving value and selling the business as a going concern.
In a statement he said: “Given the sheer size of the Clinton Cards retail estate and the overall performance, we were left with no alternative to today’s difficult decision.
“I am hopeful that the action we have taken will allow us to preserve value in the core underlying business, thereby allowing us and potential buyers to focus on a profitable and viable retail estate going forward.”
Clintons, which has 784 stores and employs 8,000, staff collapsed into administration last week after its biggest supplier American Greetings called in a £35 million debt.
The business made a pre-tax loss of £3.7 million in the 26 weeks to 29 January, compared with a profit of £11.7 million in the previous year.
