The list goes on. After Marks & Spencer, New Look and Homebase, Debenhams reduced the wing. The british retailer department stores announced Thursday, October 25, wanting to close 50 of its 165 stores in the Uk in the next three to five years. The distributor, who operates whole buildings in the main cities of the country, has not yet announced the locations concerned. But, this plan could lead to the elimination of 4,000 jobs, according to the calculations of the british press. This figure of the distribution, the heavy weight of the market of clothing and cosmetic products in the uk, employs 27 000 people.
For several months, Sergio Bucher, the boss of Debenhams, a former executive of Amazon, was preparing the City and the public authorities to bad news. A dozen stores had already been promised to the closure. In June, for the third time since 2018, the brand is listed on the London stock Exchange had revised downward its earnings forecasts for its fiscal year 2018, which closed on 1 September.
The publication of its figures for 2018 has, however, been, Thursday, a total surprise. As a result of an impairment of assets, the brand founded in 1778 shows the historical losses of 491,5 million pounds ($554 million) to a turnover of 2.9 billion pounds, down 1.8 % over twelve months. The year 2017 had resulted in a profit of 59 million pounds.
Rise of e-commerce
The plan shock of Debenhams made the ” a ” in the United Kingdom. Because, the distribution sector has already paid a heavy price for the revolution of the Net and the consumption is erratic household since the announcement of the Brexit. The fall of the pound sterling has increased the prices of imported products in the country and hindered their sales in the store.
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The rise of e-commerce weighs in on the attendance of the outlets and hit and sustain their operating account, while rents have continued to increase. In fact, the British are more likely to buy their clothes online on sites Amazon, Asos or Boohoo, and deliver their food shopping at home, after you have ordered on the web. In addition to the Channel, e-commerce now weighs 18 % of retail sales, according to the Office for national statistics (ONS), compared with 8.5 % in France.
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