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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Nicola Findlay

East Kilbride's flagship Debenhams store will not reopen to clear stock say administrators

Debenhams flagship East Kilbride store will not reopen to clear stock, the retail giant has announced.

Nearly 650 Scottish staff are to be made redundant in the latest blow to retail.

It comes after the department store folded and a £55million takeover by online retailer Boohoo in January saved the iconic name - but not the shops.

While stores in stores in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will re-open for a short period to complete its stock liquidation process when the relaxation of restrictions allow, the same will not happen in Scotland.

In Scotland, the Government has stated that the reopening of non-essential stores will not begin until April 26 at the earliest, and that this will then be on a tiered basis.

Elsewhere in the UK it is expected to be no earlier than April 12.

Debenhams say because this timeline does not align with those expected in other parts of the UK and therefore with the planned wind-down of the Debenhams business, regrettably its 15 stores in Scotland will now not reopen and are closed permanently.

A number of employees will be retained for a short period of time to support an orderly exit from the stores say administrators.

Geoff Rowley, Joint Administrator and Partner of FRP Advisory, said: "The Debenhams liquidation clearance continues online, and will restart in stores in England, Wales and Northern Ireland once restrictions allow.

"We regret that Debenhams’ Scottish stores will not be able to reopen, and would like to thank all those employees affected for their commitment to Debenhams during what I know has been an extremely unsettling time."

A spokesman for EK, East Kilbride, said: “The news about the closure of the Scottish Debenhams stores comes on the back of previous announcements about the imminent closure of all UK stores, which was clearly a huge blow for all employees at the retailer.

"The EK store has been a firm favourite with shoppers since it opened in 2003 and will be sadly missed.

“As we have said before, the retail and leisure industries are changing shape, with different demands and different ways of shopping having a profound effect on high streets and shopping centres across the UK.

"We understand this and have been working on plans to make the town centre more relevant to the people of East Kilbride moving forward."

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