Shoe shop workers wait on jobs
Scores of shopworkers across the Black Country were on tenterhooks today waiting to hear whether their jobs had been saved or whether their stores would close following the partial rescue of shoe chains Barratts and PriceLess.
Around 2,500 jobs are to go from the chains, owned by embattled shoe group Stylo, say its administrators. Deloitte said 220 stores would have to close, but confirmed that it had secured the sale of 160 shops and 165 concessions in a move expected to safeguard 3,000 roles.
The deal has been struck with Stylo's existing management team, led by chairman Michael Ziff.
Barratts has branches in Wolverhampton's Mander Centre and at Merry Hill, while PriceLess has outlets at Wolverhampton's Wulfrun Centre, also at Merry Hill and in Bilston, Dudley, Walsall, Smethwick, Cannock, Stourbridge, West Bromwich and Kidderminster.
But today Smithfield PR, the company hired to speak for Mr Ziff and the new owners, said it was still waiting to be told which stores had been saved.
Only part of the business could be saved said Neville Kahn, Deloitte partner and joint administrator, adding: "The store portfolio was deemed to be too large and unable to generate sufficient profits to cover its cost base."
Stylo collapsed into administration on Tuesday after initial attempts to rescue the Barratts and Priceless chains foundered.
The chains themselves had already been placed in administration on January 26 but a plan to give the company a breathing space in its debt repayments was rejected by creditors and landlords, forcing parent company Stylo into administration.
Stylo's shoe shops have suffered alongside the rest of the retail sector as consumer confidence faltered, while low-cost fashion chains such as New Look and Primark also had an impact on sales.
In 2008, the group posted a pre-tax loss of £12.5 million for the year to February 2. Mr Ziff said he was "sorry" about the job losses and said it would take "a lot of hard work" to revive the remaining business.
