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Birmingham Post
Birmingham Post
Business
Jon Robinson

The Original Factory Shop guarantees interviews for redundant Wilko, New Look, Argos, B&Q, M&Co, Paperchase and TK Maxx staff

The Original Factory Shop has guaranteed to give interviews to staff who have been made redundant by Wilko, New Look, Argos, B&Q, M&Co, Paperchase and TK Maxx recently.

The Burnley-headquartered discount retailer added it would also offer interviews to employees who are still at risk of losing their jobs at the brands.

The Original Factory Shop has over 80 vacancies across its 185 stores.

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Charlie Cuthbert from The Original Factory Shop said: "This pledge will hopefully mean more people remain employed while at the same time bringing their retail expertise and fantastic transferable skills to The Original Factory Shop.

"As a fellow retailer we have over 80 vacancies available including roles for sales colleagues, supervisors and management roles and want to step in to help."

Last week, Wilko announced that the equivalent of 400 jobs are set to go as it cuts costs in a "fight for survival".

The chain had already announced it plans to cut 95 jobs at its contact centre in Worksop after outsourcing to a company in South Africa.

A further 150 assistant store managers are also set to go and there will be a cut in of team supervisors equivalent to a loss of 150 full-time workers.

New figures also revealed that UK retailers have slashed almost 15,000 jobs since the start of 2023 after a raft of collapses and restructurings on the high street.

Experts have warned that "the brutal start of the year" could continue as cost pressures and weaker customer spending power take their toll.

The Centre for Retail Research said that 14,874 jobs have been cut or announced since the start of the year.

The total reflects cuts by large multiple retailers, which have 10 or more UK stores. It means overall industry job losses could be even higher once under-pressure independents are included.

The research showed 3,185 job cuts through large retailers undergoing some form of insolvency proceedings.

This included the likes of Paperchase and M&Co, which both tumbled into administration in recent weeks.

In September 2022, BusinessLive reported that The Original Factory Shop had made a pre-tax profit for the first time since 2019 as its sales jumped by more than £30m.

The company reported a pre-tax profit of £6.6m for the 12 months to March 27, 2022, up from a restated loss of £2.9m in the prior year.

The business, which has been owned by private equity firm Duke Street since 2007, has also reported a turnover of £124.4m, a rise from £92m.

The accounts also showed the brand increased its headcount from 1,882 to 1,936 during the year.

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