Job fears for hundreds at Woolworths (From The Argus)

Job fears for hundreds at Woolworths

11:00am Thursday 27th November 2008

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High-street giant Woolworths was in the process of going into administration last night, putting hundreds of Sussex jobs in jeopardy.

Dozens more roles are in question at the six MFI furniture stores in the county after the firm also announced yesterday it would be going into administration.

Woolworths, one of the oldest chains in the country, has 25 branches in Sussex.

Staff at the stores were last night waiting to find out what would happen to them.

East Worthing and Shoreham MP Tim Loughton said the firm’s demise would hit high streets across the county and spoke of the urgent need to find a way to save the jobs.

He said: “Woolworths must be one of the most high-profile casualties of the recession and it will be a great loss. Much the same can be said of MFI.

“I fear these won’t be the last well-known chains to fall victim.”

The moves into administration are the clearest examples yet of the trading slump in Britain. Both firms had found themselves in financial difficulty as shoppers cut back on spending.

Woolworths has increasingly struggled to attract customers since supermarkets started to sell many of the same goods at competitive prices.

And MFI has been hit by the downturn in the housing market, meaning fewer people are taking on redecorating projects.

Woolworths has 815 stores and employs 30,000 people across Britain, including 5,000 in its distribution arm Entertainment UK.

It opened its first store in Liverpool in 1909.

Earlier this week there were hopes the chain would be bought out but no deal was reached.

Deloitte was last night reported to have been brought in as administrator.

Lewes MP Norman Baker said: “It is a very worrying time for all the chain’s staff. The logical thing is to keep the shops open while the future is sorted out, even if they are in administration.”

MFI has 110 stores across Britain, including shops in Brighton, Shoreham, Crawley, Chichester, Eastbourne and Hastings.

It employs more than 1,000 staff across the country.

The store in Hollingbury, Brighton, remained open last night and shoppers were still taking advantage of 70% discounts.

The shop’s manager said: “We are still open and we’ll be opening tomorrow as far as I know.”

Staff said they did not know what would be happening to the store.

The collapse of the two companies came a day after an announcement by Wolseley, which owns Plumb Center, Build Center and tool hire company Brandon Hire, that it was closing 200 stores across the country, making 2,000 staff members redundant.

The closures include 44 sites in Sussex where hundreds of workers were based.

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PC mcgary no452, Thakeham says...
11:30am Thu 27 Nov 08

A true sign of High Street retail. In the case of Woolworths, most of their debt is secured against its stock, but stores will remain open till just after xmas while a buyer is sought.

MFI, will betaken over before long. and in the case of the Wolseley group, this comes as no suprise as they were expensive and un-competetive in the first place