British Home Stores to close in Coventry?

But he daren't carry through his threat....

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britai ... KKCN0Z01XJ

All BHS stores to shut down by 20 August

The 114 BHS stores still trading will close their doors for the last time by 20 August, following the collapse of the department store chain.

Administrators Duff & Phelps are expected to confirm the timetable on Monday, although many stores will cease trading well before that date, Sky News reported. About 50 stores have already closed. The closure of the remaining BHS stores will put about 5,000 workers out of a job.

Duff & Phelps, which has sold BHS’s online and international operations to the Qatar-based al-Mana Group, declined to comment.

The confirmation will come on the same day as MPs on the Commons work and pensions committee publish a report that is expected to strongly criticise the actions of the former BHS owner Sir Philip Green. The retail tycoon sold BHS for £1 to Dominic Chappell in March 2015.

BHS closure sparks fears Coventry will become 'ghost town'

Coventry shoppers fear the city centre will turn into a “ghost town” now the landmark BHS store has closed.

The once-busy department store, in Upper Precinct, was today bare after becoming the latest retailer to vanish off our high streets.

Full-time carer Davina Allan, aged 29, from Hillfields , was stunned to see the store had closed.

“I used to love going in there,” she said. “It brings back memories of my granny.

“It’s ridiculous, I don’t think it should shut. It was a good shop and good quality. If I bought something from there it would last me years.

“Too many shops are closing down, we’ll end up with a town that’s dead.”

Retired Brenda Haywood, aged 73, from Coundon , said: “I was born and bred here and all the stores that are going means this will just be a ghost town soon.

“I go over to Nuneaton to do my shopping but when I came into Coventry I would always go to BHS.

“People won’t want to come into Coventry with all the stores closing down and the shops in Coventry now cater for the young ones.

“I feel absolutely devastated for the staff, some of those have worked here years. It’s a shame for some of the elder ones – where are they going to get jobs now?”

Retired Jon Westwood, aged 61, from Earlsdon , said: “It’s probably sad that it’s closed but last time I did go in there it did seem to be a mixed model of what sort of shop it was.

“It was in a prominent position, if it couldn’t do well in that position I think it probably didn’t have that much of a future.”

After remaining open to sell off excess stock the shop closed its doors for the final time yesterday.

Elsewhere the BHS branch in Nuneaton will close on Saturday.

More than 11,000 employees are set to lose their jobs after the department store chain collapsed into administration in April.

The billionaire former owner of BHS, Sir Philip Green and others who “got rich” from BHS have been blamed for the retailer’s collapse in what MPs called the “unacceptable face of capitalism”.

A damning MPs’ report found Sir Philip extracted large sums and left the business on “life support”.

His failure to resolve BHS’s £571m pension deficit was a major factor in the firm’s demise, the report added.

The only thing which surprised me was that the lights were still on. The arcade is much worse than the precinct these days.

BHS to relaunch as online retailer two months after closure of Coventry store

It will come as little consolation to the thousands of people who once worked for BHS - including hundreds in Coventry and Warwickshire and across the Midlands - but the former retail giant is set to live on as an online retailer of lighting and home furnishing products.

BHS.com will open for business in the UK on September 29 and over the weeks ahead is set to add new ranges to its offering including kitchen and dining ware and clothing.

The new BHS, which will be based in London, has 84 employees – the majority of whom worked for the retailer before it went into administration.

It will have a smaller range of products than BHS did previously but will have a greater focus on items that sell well.

The new online BHS comes under the umbrella of the Al Mana Group, which operates in a number of sectors including retail, automotive, real estate, media and technology.

In June 2016 this year BHS International (UK) was formed after the Al Mana Group acquired BHS.com, the international franchise business and the BHS brand.

David Anderson, managing director of BHS International will be overseeing the launch of the new online business but there are plans to recruit someone to run the operation.

Prior to its collapse as a high street retailer lighting and home furnishing made up more than 50 per cent of BHS’s online revenue.

Some of the former best-selling products that have been secured for the relaunch include items from BHS’s former bedroom, bathroom, cushion and lighting ranges.

At the time of BHS going into administration, its international and online businesses were profitable and growing, and many of the key people running these have been retained by the Al Mana Group.

They include David Anderson, who remains managing director of BHS International, Sara Bradley (buying director) and Dave West (head of creative).

BHS had stores in Coventry, Nuneaton, Stratford and Solihull.

Just like Woolworth C&A then all gone on line I wonder if this was the intention in the first place.

New business to move into former Coventry city centre BHS

A new business will soon move into the former BHS store in Coventry city centre.

The deal has not yet been finalised so the name of the business is not public.

But bosses at the Coventry’s Business Improvement District, which aims to promote the city centre , say the store is being rented out.

A spokesperson for BID said: "The unit is being relet as we speak, so we aren’t able to give you any details at this time."

The shop in a prime spot at the corner of the Precinct and Smithford Way has stood empty since August last year.

In April research by the Guardian newspaper showed more than two thirds of the company’s former stores were still empty including the one in Coventry city centre.

BHS stores left empty in towns and smaller cities attracted much less interest than those in London, Leeds and Birmingham.

The Precinct is owned by London-based investment company JP Morgan Assets.

The Coventry and Nuneaton BHS stores closed along with all the BHS stores in the country last year.

Other Coventry city centre casualties include the former Co-Op department store in Corporation Street which closed in 2015.

The building is being turned into luxury flats, shops and a restaurant.

Co-op bosses cited a difficult retail environment and the rise of online shopping for the closure.

In April Debenhams announced plans to close 10 of its 176 stores. But it’s not yet known if the Coventry city centre Debenhams will be one of them.

Marks and Spencer is closing six stores around the country but Coventry is not on the list.

"Two national chains fighting it out to secure former Coventry city centre BHS store"



Discussions are still ongoing over securing a tenant for the former BHS department store in Coventry city centre despite claims a deal was close to being sealed in June last year.

And although no details have emerged as to who might be in the running it is believed a number of retail operators are interested.

Once source told the Telegraph two national retail chains are currently bidding to take over the store in Upper Precinct.

In June 2017, the Telegraph reported an announcement was imminent on a new tenant being secured for the store, which is in a prime location at the corner of Upper Precinct and Smithford Way.

At the time it was reported the deal had not been finalised and no announcement would be made on the new tenant until it was.

It is not known whether the prospective tenant said to be finalising a deal at the time pulled out or is still in the running.

Upper Precinct is owned by London-based investment company JP Morgan Asset Management.

Coventry City Council’s cabinet member for jobs and regeneration, Cllr Jim O’Boyle, said he could not comment on who might be taking over the former BHS store but said it was seen as a crucial location in relation to wider city centre development which is taking place.

This includes the proposed City Centre South retail scheme and the redevelopment of Upper Precinct.

Actually, props to the Telegraph for linking this to and correcting their previous report which was clearly premature.

I trust O'Boyle as far as I could throw him.

B&M 'unaware' of former BHS store development



High street store B&M have said they are "unaware" of their supposed move to Coventry's former British Home Stores (BHS) building.

Their response comes after reports this morning suggested the budget retailer, along with Matalan and the Coventry Building Society, could fill units in the landmark city centre building.

Work already appears to be underway at the store and CGI images on planning documents include a storefront with B&M's branding.

But when approached for comment, a spokeswoman for B&M told CoventryLive: "We open 50 stores a year so we are always looking at lots of locations in order to open that many, but as of yet this is not one I am aware of."

The design and access statement on the city council website does not confirm which businesses will be moving in, but says new shop front doors will be installed to each unit of the building.

The CGI images within the document show stores with branding of Matalan and B&M.

Coventry’s British Home Stores building set to get a new tenant



Coventry’s former British Home Stores building is set to taken over by a new tenant it has been revealed.

The large British Home Stores (BHS) building on the corner of the Upper Precinct and Smithford Way has been empty since it closed in the summer of 2016.

There has been ongoing speculation over the former department store being taken over by a new tenant - or tenants - but so far nothing concrete had emerged.

Now Coventry City Council’s cabinet member for jobs and regeneration has revealed that contracts have been exchanged and an announcement on the building’s future is not far off.

Councillor Jim O’Boyle revealed the move during a walkabout tour of Coventry city centre with CoventryLive to showcase the many improvement works that are taking place to transform the city centre.

Cllr O’Boyle said: “Contracts have been exchanged between the company which owns the BHS building and a retailer."

He added: “I think they are just finalising details but we are confident the deal is done and they will come in and start trading - once they have done what they need to get done to the building and had it fitted-out.”

Cllr O’Boyle said while he was not able to reveal who the new tenant is he is sure people will be “impressed” - describing them as “a high end retailer”.

Cllr O’Boyle said that difficulties in securing a new tenant had been presented by the fact that Historic England had classified the building - and its canopies in particular - as Grade II-listed in 2018.

Following negotiations the canopies have been removed.

“They (Historic England) agreed it was the right thing for them to be removed,” Cllr O’Boyle said.

“It is going to bring the building back to life - city centres are to be used, not looked at and admired.”