COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Mamas & Papas closes six stores including Leamington outlet



Mamas & Papas has closed six stores, including its outlet in Leamington, after striking a ‘pre-pack’ administration deal.

The ‘pre-pack’ deal between company owners Bluegem Capital, which acquired Mamas & Papas in 2014, and administrators Deloitte aims to cut store losses by selling off assets to other companies within the Mamas & Papas Group.

The Leamington Mamas & Papas outlet was among six unprofitable stores.

The others were in Aberdeen, Preston, Milton Keynes, Lincoln and Fareham.

All have now closed with 73 members of staff losing their jobs.

A further 54 jobs are at risk as the retailer looks to “review and simplify” operations at its head office in Huddersfield, reports the Manchester Evening News.

The company says its 26 remaining stores will continue to trade as normal and online orders are unaffected by today’s announcement.

Mamas & Papas is the second British babycare brand to call in administrators this week after Mothercare announced the phased closure of all 79 of its UK stores on Tuesday.

Today Mothercare has launched a closing down sale with dramatically reduced prices.

Coventry city centre butchers shuts its doors for the last time



A city centre butchers in Coventry has closed down.

Walter Smith is thought to have been a mainstay on the city's high street for over 35 years, but the shutters came down at the end of the Christmas period.

A representative for the butchers, which has stores across the Midlands, confirmed that the Coventry branch, located in the Bull Yard in the city centre, closed on December 28.

It is one of three Walter Smith shops to have shut its doors, with the Denby and West Bromwich stores no longer trading too.

This leaves the company, which founded in 1885, with 11 stores left across the region.

A post on the Walter Smith Facebook page read: "We are very sad to announce the closure of our Denby, West Bromwich and Coventry shops.

"Thank you so much to all of our loyal customers for your support over the years.

"We look forward to seeing you in one of our remaining 11 shops and wish you all a very happy and healthy 2020."

The chain is best known for their award winning pork pies, and the closure is yet another blow to a section of the city centre which is seemingly struggling.

Many of the retail units along the Bull Yard, Shelton Square, and Market Way are currently empty.

And, while some have been empty for some time, several more have joined them in recent months.

Hamilton Deals, located beside Walter Smith, closed their Bull Yard store last year.

They join the British Heart Foundation store, the Amber Caffe, and Halifax bank, in closing along Market Way.

Bonmarche store in Coventry city centre looks set to close



Another clothing store in Coventry looks set to close its doors as final clearance posters have appeared in the window.

Bonmarche in West Orchards has been forced into administration, with administrators appointed for the business late last year.

Mystery surrounds the closure of the Nuneaton branch, however it seems all stock must go in the Coventry store.

Posters in the window have been put up for a 'final clearance' and 'everything must go'.

Next to the front door, the administration letter is displayed.

The notice was filed on October 18 2019, but the store is now being emptied as a result.

It isn't known yet how many jobs will be lost or when the store will close.

Business advisory firm FRP have been appointed administrators by the retail firm.

It has been reported by Retail Gazette that retail chain Peacocks has tabled a bid to buy Bonmarche and that they are the preferred bidder of FRP.

Several clothes shops have closed in West Orchards and the city centre.

BHS in Upper Precinct was one of the city centre's biggest losses and in West Orchards, Realbuzz sport shop and Miss Selfridge have closed in recent years.

GAME to close 40 stores across the UK



The future of GAME stores in Coventry and Warwickshire remains uncertain after the UK’s biggest video games retailer announced plans to close 40 stores.

GAME made the announcement after a disappointing Christmas period.

The gaming store is the latest company to announce branch closures in a bid to help the business.

GAME had already served notices in around 13 sites when the news was announced on Thursday (January 9).

They included Mansfield, Canterbury, Watford, Glasgow Fort and Leicester.

Another 14 sites were also served notices on January 8, mostly in outlets owned by Intu and New River.

They included Derby, Norwich Chapelfield, Lakeside, Bexleyheath and Carmarthen.

GAME said it intends to serve notice on the additional sites in the near future.

A spokesperson for GAME said: “We are working closely with landlords throughout the UK to ensure that we do not have to vacate the 40 locations which could lead to a number of job losses.

“However, we are facing a challenging retail market and GAME with its extensive retail footprint, needs to restructure and landlords need to work with us in setting realistic, fair rents.”

The GAME stores locally are:

Coventry - Lower Precinct

Coventry - Arena Park

Nuneaton - Queen’s Road

Leamington - Warwick Street

Rugby - Rugby Central Shopping Centre

Solihull - Mell Square

It did have a store in Stratford but that closed in February 2019.