Major high street store to close 20 per cent of its shops in bid to stay afloat
A view of Oxford Street in London, as Clintons greetings card retailer decides to take drastic measures to avoid insolvency
PA
The greetings card and gifts retailer, Clintons, is set to close a fifth of its stores in a last ditch attempt to stay afloat.
Reports suggest that should the firm fail to close a deal, it may be left with little choice but to file for administration.
Clintons has expressed intention to close 38 of its 179 shops, as it faces financial crisis for the third time in 11 years.
The high street chain went bust in 2012 but was rescued by American Greetings, a supplier owned by the US-based Weiss family.
Though the brand survived, 350 shops were culled and nearly 3,000 employees let go.
Clintons went into administration again in 2019, and the Weiss family bailed it out once more though not without further job cuts and store closures.
At its height, Clintons operated nearly 800 stores and employed 8,000 staff.
Clintons was founded in 1968 by Don Lewin, the son of an East End chimney sweep.
Clintons unveils the brand new identity and customer experience at the Cheapside store in London.
PA
Lewin later wrote an autobiography titled Think of a Card and was awarded an OBE.
Also in 1968, Judith Cash and Eddie Pond founded rival greetings card and stationary seller, Paperchase.
No stranger to financial hardship, Paperchase filed for administration in 2021 after being blighted by Covid lockdowns.
Tesco purchased Paperchase’s brand and intellectual property, but the chain’s 106 shops in the UK and Ireland were not included in the deal and hundreds of employees were made redundant.
Closing down signs in the window of the Paperchase shop on Worcester high street.
PA
According to The Times, Clintons had considered a merger deal with rival Paperchase earlier this year.
It comes at a tricky time for the High Street, as Wilko warned it was on the brink of collapse last week, putting 12,000 jobs at risk.
The homewares company, which has been trading for 93 years, said that it had filed a "notice of intention" (NOI) to appoint administrators.
Potential Wilko buyers would need to cough up £70million to save the bargain retailer, reports have suggested.
HIGH STREET LATEST:
Christmas cards on sale in a Clintons store in Solihull.
PA
A rival discount chain and two private equity firms have been named as potential buyers for a deal which would involve slashing rents at Wilko's 400 shops through a company voluntary arrangement.
Pensions Regulator is also holding talks with the retailer over the fate of its pension schemes
Mike Ashley's Fraser House and Hilco are not thought to be among the potential purchasers.
Meanwhile, Clintons has appointed restructuring experts FRP Advisory, which has declined to comment.
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