Debenhams confirmed last night that another five of its stores will not be re-opening after lockdown restrictions are lifted.
After entering administration last month, Debenhams subsequently announced that it had struck deals with landlords that would enable it to re-open 120 of its 142 stores. However, it said at the time that seven stores will remain closed and talks on the remainder of its estate were ongoing.
The latest five stores are being permanently closed after Debenhams was unable to agree new terms with Hammerson, the owner of the shopping centres where the outlets are located.
The affected department stores are in the Bullring in Birmingham, The Oracle in Reading, Centrale in Croydon, Highcross in Leicester, and Silverburn in Glasgow. The closures will cost around 1,000 jobs.
A Debenhams spokesperson said: “We can confirm that despite our best efforts, we have been unable to agree terms with Hammerson on our five stores in its shopping centres, and so they will not be re-opening.
“We continue to engage in constructive talks with our landlords and have agreed terms on the vast majority of our stores, which we look forward to re-opening when government restrictions allow.”
It was subsequently announced this morning that clothing and homewares chain NEXT has signed flexible leases with Hammerson to take over the existing beauty halls in the five Debenhams stores.
‘The Beauty Hall from NEXT’ concept aims to complement the retailers growing online beauty business. The company said it was seeking experienced staff with “proven premium beauty retail experience”, providing a potential opportunity for staff impacted by the Debenhams closures.
NEXT launched an online beauty collaboration with Fabled by Marie Claire in 2018. The retailer’s website now sells over 200 beauty brands, including brands such as Estee Lauder, Burberry, Bvlgari, Emporio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent and Lancôme.
Simon Wolfson, NEXT Chief Executive, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to work with existing and new beauty brand partners to create a new force in beauty retailing – bringing our online business to life through premium store environments in some of the UK’s most important retail locations.”
Meanwhile, Hammerson revealed it was looking to repurpose the other floors of the five Debenhams sites in a bid to reduce the amount of department store space in its portfolio.
“This is a challenging time for all of us, so it’s really encouraging to see strong, innovative brands like NEXT work with us to plan for the future,” said Hammerson Chief Executive David Atkins.
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