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That, and they have the aptitude of plantlife.Originally posted by vetran View PostLeave a comment:
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Travel lodge development opportunity on London Oxford Street
House of Fraser to close 31 stores
Perhaps they'll keep the Glasgow store, where it all started. Lovely building so it is.
Department store chain House of Fraser is to close 31 of its 59 shops, affecting 6,000 jobs, as part of a rescue deal.
If the plan is approved, 2,000 House of Fraser jobs will go, along with 4,000 brand and concession roles.
The stores scheduled for closure, which include its flagship London Oxford Street store, will stay open until early 2019, House of Fraser said.
The retailer needs the approval of 75% of its creditors to go ahead.
Creditors will vote on the insolvency plan, which involves company voluntary arrangements (CVAs), on 22 June.
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The House of Fraser stores identified for closure:
Altrincham, Aylesbury, Birkenhead, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Camberley, Cardiff, Carlisle, Chichester, Cirencester, Cwmbran, Darlington, Doncaster, Edinburgh Frasers, Epsom, Grimsby, High Wycombe, Hull, Leamington Spa, Lincoln, London Oxford Street, London King William Street, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Plymouth, Shrewsbury, Skipton, Swindon, Telford, Wolverhampton, Worcester.
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'Existential threat'
House of Fraser chairman Frank Slevin said: "The retail industry is undergoing fundamental change and House of Fraser urgently needs to adapt to this fast-changing landscape in order to give it a future and allow it to thrive.
"Our legacy store estate has created an unsustainable cost base which, without restructuring, presents an existential threat to the business."
Closing stores was "a very difficult decision", he said, but "there should be no doubt that it is absolutely necessary if we are to continue to trade and be competitive".
Accountancy firm KPMG, which is overseeing the insolvency process, said the firm had been hit by "mounting pressures facing the UK High Street".
In addition to the store closures, the department store chain is seeking to cut rents by 25% on 10 of the stores it is keeping open.
Of the 31 stores it wants to shut, it is seeking a 70% rent reduction for seven months, after which the stores will close.
Retail empire
House of Fraser began with one shop in the centre of Glasgow almost 170 years ago.
It became a retail empire with more than 100 department stores, including iconic luxury store Harrods in 1959.
Owner Hugh Fraser also acquired Kendals in Manchester and Rackhams in Birmingham.
Hugh's son, also called Hugh, expanded the portfolio with a further 50 stores.
The Fraser dynasty came to an end in 1985, when Mohamed Al Fayed took it over.
The House of Fraser Group has annual sales of £1.2bn. It employs about 5,000 people directly and also has 12,500 concession staff.
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