Customer orders halted at TJ Hughes

Collapsed discount department store TJ Hughes is no longer taking new customer orders at its stores, prompting further fears for their futures.

Signs have been put up on shop windows and at the tills informing shoppers the company is in the hands of administrators.

The signs also tell customers it will no longer be issuing gift vouchers or credit notes.

Customers are being reminded of the terms of redeeming their vouchers, which stipulate they must spend money on top of the voucher's amount.

Around 86 people work at TJ Hughes in Lichfield's Three Spires Shopping Centre, with a further 87 in Wolverhampton's Mander Centre. The Walsall branch, which sits at the top of the main shopping street, employs 42 people with staff members saying they are now unsure of their future. There are also 38 people employed at a branch in Kidderminster.

Administrators at Ernst & Young have been trying to find a buyer for the business, which employs 4,000 people nationwide, since they were called in last month but without success.

The sign at the Park Street shop in Walsall says: "This store continues to trade.

"At present, no new customer orders can be placed for any goods to be ordered to store or home delivery, whether in stock or not." Goods bought before administrators were appointed can be exchanged on like for like items but cannot be refunded while no new gift vouchers can be bought, it adds.

T J Hughes opened in Walsall's former Woolworths store in 2009.

Shoppers in the town today said they feared seeing another empty shop on the High Street.

Office worker Laura Thornton, aged 29, of Coalpool, said: "I go in TJ Hughes for household stuff and cheaper toiletries because you do tend to find some bargains.

"It would be a shame if it closed down.

"There are enough empty shops around at the moment and we don't need anymore, especially one as big as this."

Yesterday administrators at Ernst & Young revealed Gordon Brothers, an international liquidation group, had been brought in to start selling the stock at branches of TJ Hughes.

If a buyer is not found, it is feared this role may extend to closing stores.

The collapse of TJ Hughes is yet another blow to the high street, following the loss of household names such as Woolworths and Habitat.

Wolverhampton's Mander Centre was hit with another blow this week when a health food store closed without warning.

Rosemary's Health Foods shut suddenly and its future remains unclear. Shoppers and businesses reported seeing tills being taken away and shelves being cleared of stock on Monday morning.