Greetings card chain Clintons is said to be considering shutting 1 in 5 shops, sparking uncertainty over the future of Chatham's branch in the Pentagon Shopping Centre.
The retailer, which currently employs around 2,500 staff, has entered talks with landlords to restructure the business through a survival process known as a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), allowing Clintons to continue trading while going ahead with store closures and rent cuts in response to insolvency. While Clintons is yet to finalise any final decisions, the process may involve closing 66 of its 332 stores across the UK - could Chatham's store be one of them? Documents presented to landlords allegedly revealed that at least 90 of its stores are currently 'loss-making' with sales forecast to continue to decline, The Sunday Telegraph reported. However, speaking to the BBC, a spokeswoman for Clintons declined to confirm such revelations and said that "discussions are continuing with our landlords but no decisions have been made". Founded in 1968, the Clintons chain - formerly known as Clinton Cards - fell into administration in May 2012, which saw a wave of store closures including nearly 200 of its own stores and all 139 Birthdays shops, which was a subsidiary of the retail group. The former Birthdays store in the Pentagon Shopping Centre, Chatham was rebranded to the current Clintons store, while Clintons Cards near Primark closed its doors for the final time in July 2012 - now home to the Wisdom Hospice charity shop. Comments are closed.
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