Beatties to close store
Beatties is closing one of its Black Country department stores, it was announced today
The bombshell news was given today to staff at the Dudley shop, which has just celebrated its 40th anniversary. Bosses say the branch in the Churchill Shopping Centre will continue to trade as normal for now but closure is planned by the end of January.
There are 76 staff at the shop in total, 48 are not paid directly by Beatties but by the concessions they work for.
The company said today it would be looking to redeploy people where possible and it was now entering into a period of consultation.
Nick Orford, West Midlands general manager for Beatties owner House of Fraser said today: "The financial forecasts show it is not financially viable to continue trading.
"We have advised all the staff this morning. It is our intention to redeploy staff where possible.
"It is very sad and it is not a decision we have taken lightly. We have tried a number of different retail formats which didn't work such as trading as a clearing store."
He said Beatties had also closed the lower ground floor in the summer.
He added no further store closures were planned and the Wolverhampton branch was not affected.
The Dudley store became the fourth branch of Beatties to open in England on September 4, 1969.
The new £750,000 store drew hundreds of people to its official opening.
Beatties was founded in Wolverhampton in 1877 in a small shop in Victoria Street. The founder, James Beattie, began the business with two assistants and by 1895 had a staff of 40 and an annual turnover of £30,000.
House of Fraser reported a solid performance for the first half of the year last month, with underlying profits up 16 per cent.
