The closing shop chains thread...

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Re: [Renamed] The closing shop chains thread...

Postby rebbonk » Wed Mar 21, 2012 10:59 am

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:::Edited for ease of readability by DM:::
Of course it'll fit; you just need a bigger hammer.
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Re: [Renamed] The closing shop chains thread...

Postby dutchman » Wed Mar 21, 2012 1:11 pm

Game Group to file for administration

Struggling video games retailer Game Group has said it intends to file for administration.

Earlier, shares in Game were suspended "pending clarification of the company's financial position".

The firm said talks with stakeholders and other parties had not made enough progress to offer "a realistic prospect for a solvent solution".

Game has seen its business eroded by competition from online-only retailers, such as Steam and Amazon.

Last week, the retailer confirmed that a number of suppliers were refusing to do business with the company.

The group, which is headquartered in Basingstoke, has 1,300 stores worldwide, including 600 in the UK.

It said the business would continue to trade and discussions with lenders and third parties would continue.

'Over-expansion'

In an earlier statement on Wednesday, the firm asked for its shares to be suspended, saying the value of the company had been eroded.

Shares in Game closed at 2.39p on Tuesday, having fallen from 62p a year ago.

Game acquired GameStation in 2007, adding hundreds of new stores to its portfolio. Piers Harding-Rolls, head of games at IHS Screen Digest, said that with hindsight, this move could now be seen as over-expansion.

"Whilst it reaped the reward of this in 2008, when lots of content was sold thanks to new consoles and handheld devices, the packaged game market has since declined," he said.

But he added that there was still a place for a large specialist games retailer on the High Street, with 70% of spend on games content in the UK still in the form of physical media.

:bbc_news:
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Re: [Renamed] The closing shop chains thread...

Postby StevieG » Mon Mar 26, 2012 4:23 pm

277 stores to close according to Sky News
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Re: [Renamed] The closing shop chains thread...

Postby dutchman » Mon Mar 26, 2012 5:52 pm

Some GAME stores are still open* apparently but unable to accept certain forms of payment :roll:

There was a rumour in the financial press over the weekend that bankers RBS deliberately let them go bust so they could acquire their assets cheaply from the administrator.

*Broadgate and Ricoh are still trading according to another forum.
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Re: [Renamed] The closing shop chains thread...

Postby dutchman » Wed Mar 28, 2012 2:40 pm

Game administration: 30 jobs to be lost in Coventry and Warwickshire

THIRTY jobs have been lost across Coventry and Warwickshire after retail giant the Game Group closed five local stores.

Just hours after announcing the collapse of the business, administrators shut 277 of its 600 stores across the UK – including shops in Coventry’s West Orchards Shopping Centre, Nuneaton, Rugby, Leamington and Stratford.

Administrators at PwC have confirmed they are liaising with a number of parties who have expressed an interest in purchasing part or all of the business and assets of the group.

However, they say they were left with no option but to axe 2,704 workers after reviewing the ongoing operational requirements of the business and with the continued difficulties on the high street.

Mike Jervis, joint administrator and partner at PwC, said: “Our priority is to continue trading the business as normal while we continue to pursue a sale.

“The recent job losses are regrettable but will place the company in a stronger position while we explore opportunities to conclude a sale.

"My team and I will be doing all we can to help the affected employees at this difficult time.”

The remaining 333 stores employing 2,844 people will stay open as normal while the administrators continue their efforts to find a purchaser for the business.

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Re: [Renamed] The closing shop chains thread...

Postby dutchman » Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:32 pm

Gamestation closes branch in Leamington

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Gamestation is the latest national retail chain to have closed a branch in Leamington town centre.

Game Group, the video games retailer under which both Gamestation and Game stores operate, has gone into administration closing 277 branches and making more than 2,000 employees redundant.

Meanwhile Game, in the Royal Priors, is one of the 333 stores which remain open while administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers searches for a buyer for the ailing company.

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Re: [Renamed] The closing shop chains thread...

Postby dutchman » Sun Apr 01, 2012 5:52 pm

GAME saved from administration by OpCapita

GAME has been saved from administration, according to reports.

A deal has been officially reached with investment firm OpCapita to save the struggling gaming retailer, according to MCV.

The firm are said to have paid a nominal fee in order to seal the claim, in a similar way to how they paid £2 for Comet last year.

It is not confirmed if supply agreements have been made with each UK supplier to GAME, but it is understood that some companies have agreed to return.

OpCapita will set up a new management team tomorrow (April 2).

For the time being, all of GAME's remaining 333 stores and 2,814 UK staff are safe, but none of the closed retail outlets will be reopened.
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Re: [Renamed] The closing shop chains thread...

Postby dutchman » Thu Apr 12, 2012 10:35 am

Mothercare To Close Over 100 Stores In UK

Struggling retailer Mothercare has announced it will close a further 111 UK stores over the next three years.

It is believed the move will result in over 700 job losses, and will reduce the company’s portfolio of outlets in Britain to 200.

The closures will mainly affect Early Learning Centre (ELC) stores – 75 of these will be shut down compared to 36 Mothercare branded shops.

Sales in the UK have dwindled, as the brand faces tough competition from supermarkets and online retailers.

The chain already shut down 62 shops in the last year and expects the store reduction programme to improve its UK profits by £13m by March 2015.

:sky_news:
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Re: [Renamed] The closing shop chains thread...

Postby dutchman » Wed May 09, 2012 9:04 pm

Clinton Cards goes into administration

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Troubled retailer Clinton Cards has been placed in adminstration, after its largest supplier took steps to begin the process earlier on Wednesday.

Clinton had already asked for trading in its shares to be suspended before the administration announcement.

It said two of its banks sold £35m of loans to supplier American Greetings.

While the banks had waived certain conditions for the loans, American Greetings had pressed for repayments that Clinton Cards could not meet.

Founded in 1968, it is the UK's biggest card retailer, operating 628 Clinton shops and 139 Birthdays stores and employing more than 8,000 staff.

In March, Clinton reported a loss of £3.7m for the six months to the end of January and said the outlook for 2012 was worse than previously thought.

On Wednesday, it said like-for-like sales, which strip out the impact of sales from shops opened or closed in the past year, fell 3.5% in the past 14 weeks compared with a year earlier.

Loan enforcement

The company said Barclays Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland had sold its loan facilities to American Greetings.

It said that although it had not breached any covenants or repayment obligations, it had been given certain temporary waivers for "technical breaches" by the banks.

Clinton said it had originally believed that American Greetings would extend these waivers.

"However, having secured control of the debt, American Greetings immediately informed the board that it intended to enforce the loan against the company," the retailer said in a statement earlier on Wednesday.

"The board has concluded that because it is unable to repay the loan, it has no option but to concur with American Greetings' proposal to place the company and its subsidiaries into administration."

Clinton has been restructuring its business to try and turn around its fortunes, including closing a number of Clinton and Birthdays-branded UK stores.

:bbc_news:
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Re: [Renamed] The closing shop chains thread...

Postby dutchman » Thu May 10, 2012 12:53 pm

[Nuneaton] Jobs could be on the line if store is forced to close

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THE FATE of hard-working employees hangs in the balance as another giant retailer is forced into administration.

Staff at Clinton Cards in Nuneaton town centre are considering their future job prospects after it was revealed that the company has gone under despite consistent attempts at trying to keep it afloat.

Workers at the Market Place store are just some of the 8,000 staff members whose jobs could be on the line as a result of the latest activity.

Team members at the Hinckley branch of Clinton Cards in Castle Street could also be affected by the decision.

Clinton Cards is the UK's biggest card retailer selling everything from wedding gifts to cuddly toys and there are 628 stores currently open and serving members of the British public.

The company also owns 139 Birthdays stores around the UK, selling similar items to customers.

Going into administration means that staff at the Nuneaton Birthdays outlet in Market Place are also at risk of losing their jobs.

The firm was forced into administration yesterday, shortly after it requested that its shares be suspended on the London Stock Exchange.

The decision, which will serve another blow to Nuneaton's high street, was taken after the company's banks Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland sold Clinton Cards' £35m of loans to supplier, American Greetings.

Trading has suffered as a result of an increase in the number of online competitors who sell personalised products filled with unique messages.

Large supermarkets have also made selling tougher and as a result some stores' sales have dropped by 3.5 per cent.

The chain, which was founded in 1968, recorded a pretax loss of £3.7m in the 26 weeks to the end of January, compared with a profit of £11.7m in the previous year.

Local staff members now face an anxious wait to see if they will face the axe when a new buyer takes over the business.

Meanwhile it is understood that the administrators will continue to run the stores as normal until further announcements are made.

If the Nuneaton store shuts up shop for good, residents will be left to go elsewhere to find their cards, gift wrap and ribbons.

It will also add another empty shell to the town centre which has recently seen a number of other major retailers cash up their tills for the last time.

Shoppers have been forced to wave goodbye to Millets, after owners, outdoor specialists Blacks Leisure, went into administration, as well as Mothercare, the Early Learning Centre, T J Hughes, Jonathon James, Marks and Spencers, Starbucks, Jane Norman and most recently Gamestation.

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