Debenhams closing

[Hellin301]

I thought there would be a new buyer. Can’t believe 12,000 people will lose their jobs!

It's very sad.

Looks like the employees of Topshop and Dorothy Perkins Will also soon follow
Very sad times

Its sad, but some of these firms have been mismanaged for years, and with Debenhams their previous trips into administration should have been wake up calls.

The Covid restrctions havent helped Debenhams, Arcadia or anyone, who'd have thought that forcibly closing businesses for a large % of the year would cause them to be unable to continue.....

Very sad for all the staff

In the case of Debenhams, coronavirus has accelerated a process that was already underway.

From a Jan 2019 Forbes article, The Death of Debenhams:

Sadly, what we are witnessing are the final death throes of a once proud retail business

Debenhams had been struggling for some time. Mired in rising costs, locked into long landlord leases, facing increasing competition from online and without a compelling in-store experience (for that, read dire), it seems that the uncertainty that Brexit is causing across the entire U.K. economy was the final nail in the coffin.

www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbusby/2019/01/10/d-day-for-debenhams/?sh=7e895a401816

Unbelievably sad for that many job losses. Also is that 12k retail job losses and directly employed by Debenhams? Probably a lot more in the supply chain as well. There is going to be so many empty shops.

I've not been in the nearest Debenhams for years, but reports of what it was like in the summer., Dont touch this, dont look there, walk on the line, if you touch anything tell us immediately and we'll quarantine it, one way, dont look here, dont speak to staff if you dont have to etc it wasnt worth going in,

Unfortunately, the few times I went into Debenhams, I felt like an intruder. Supercilious staff who were there to tell me with a dismissive shrug that, no, they didn't stock the clothing brand I wanted.
Contrast that with a friendly smile and quick chat from all M&S staff, and it becomes obvious that shopping at Debenhams compares very unfavorably.
I feel sorry for those losing their jobs, but management is at fault.

Sadly inevitable , if not now it would have been in NY. Historically they have been over dependant on large concessions to fill otherwise dead space in stores too big for their market. Whenever any went under Powerstore, Perrins, Comet they left huge voids and affected profitability. Arcadia is another example but because of former business links have occupied a more significant % of the space.

The issue is that the old fashioned department style stores are now not a great business model, especially with online retailing.

Take Liverpool, they built the new shiny flagship store at one end of L1 and John Lewis at the other. Not only do they have a lot of the same clothing consessions, the individual brands then also have their own stores a very short distance away. What's the point.
The beauty stands will lose out because most are too small for a full shop or afford full rent but then they could all get together and open a beauty only store.

Weirdly, next online are increasing the brands they sell every day, but that's much easier when it's basically warehouse space and not actually in their stores.

I shop in Debenhams quite a lot. I especially like the Chester branch. I like a lot of their own range of clothing too.

The physical shops closed in Ireland earlier this year, but had felt very empty the last few times I had been in there. Both empty of people and of stock. So it wasn't a huge surprise.

I am very sad. This wasn't caused by COVID-19 as it's been flagging for years but it's terrible. All those jobs gone. A 200 year old plus company gone.

@Fizbosshoes

Unbelievably sad for that many job losses. Also is that 12k retail job losses and directly employed by Debenhams? Probably a lot more in the supply chain as well. There is going to be so many empty shops.

Yes there is always a ripple effect. When BHS went, Pretty Polly (tights supplier) immediately folded as that was their main supplier.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-england-derbyshire-36382110

Like others, I tried to support during Covid but when you can’t try on clothes or look at make-up, it was preferable to shop online.

Department stores are probably only viable now in massive out-of-area sites where volume sales and footfall are high. It’s a huge shame for local economies but we need to change to online models.

@Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel

I am very sad. This wasn't caused by COVID-19 as it's been flagging for years but it's terrible. All those jobs gone. A 200 year old plus company gone.

A sad warning sign for me was the closure of Boswells Department Store in Oxford, after 282 years of trading. The closure was announced in January so not strictly COVID related - but this whole setup was clearly no longer working.

A sad warning sign for me was the closure of Boswells Department Store in Oxford, after 282 years of trading. The closure was announced in January so not strictly COVID related - but this whole setup was clearly no longer working.

It was a sad day indeed when Boswells closed, that end of the city is now going to be irrelevant and it's just going to be tourists with cameras taking their pics that go there.

@Covidasaurus

Like others, I tried to support during Covid but when you can’t try on clothes or look at make-up, it was preferable to shop online.

Department stores are probably only viable now in massive out-of-area sites where volume sales and footfall are high. It’s a huge shame for local economies but we need to change to online models.

But I don't want to shop online. I want to see clothes, feel them, try them on. I want to try make up samples, smell toiletries, try the creams, see if a lipstick colour suits me etc.

I want to mooch round the shops. I don't want to just order everything online. It is so joyless and sterile shopping this way. It will limit innovation because we will only buy what we know fits us or suits us. You can't return a lipstick or foundation because you don't like the colour.

Ahh, this is really sad. I love their Mantaray clothing range. I mean, I'm not entitled to complain as I only ever buy things second-hand (might sound virtuous and good for the environment but it's a terrible thing for the ecinomy). But it's extremely sad.

Quite frankly I am bloody surprised that they have managed to cling on as long as they have. Our local one is always empty and if you do venture in, it is not a pleasant shopping experience. Yes people want to shop and mooch and touch things (post Covid) but the reality is the large department store is a dead entity. Smaller, more indivudual retail and online is the way forward. Those larger stores that are still around (John Lewis, M&S etc) really must ensure they have an excellent in store experience, backed up by a strong online offer.

@LadyofOxford

A sad warning sign for me was the closure of Boswells Department Store in Oxford, after 282 years of trading. The closure was announced in January so not strictly COVID related - but this whole setup was clearly no longer working.

It was a sad day indeed when Boswells closed, that end of the city is now going to be irrelevant and it's just going to be tourists with cameras taking their pics that go there.

Far many shops on Cornmarket selling tat and hoodies that's for sure.

This should've been a warning sign (pic taken end of 2019).

Debenham’s is the author of its own misfortune. The one in Glasgow city centre has been understaffed and cluttered for years. The final straw for me was when I wanted to try someone on on, say, the fifth floor, and they said all the changing rooms were closed and I’d need to go to the fourth floor. That was about 5 years ago, pre-COVID.

The one in Meadowhall was refurbished recently. It was a nice store.

I am that no-one has posted saying that they are glad they have gone.

In the past mumsnetters who have such worthy lifestyles that they think that shoping is only for the shallow and vacuous who are too busy to shop have often been pleased that a certain chain of shops has closed.

I am glad that should say

I'm sad for the staff but really this was inevitable. The only thing I'm surprised about is that it didn't happen years ago. Big department stores just seem like a relic of times past. John Lewis is surely next?

Even before Covid shopping in Debenhams was not a great experience.

Few staff, few changing rooms open, constantly being asked if you want to have a Debenhams card whenever you pay, if you say yes the queue has to wait while that is sorted out, asking you for your email address etc.

I rarely ventured in there except to use it as a cut through from the High Street to the small shopping centre on the other side.

They did have a huge range available online so I did buy stuff and then return anything that I didn't like or didn't fit to the store. I don't imagine that sort of custom would keep them afloat.

I doubt they would have lasted much longer even without lockdowns.