Mamas & Papas has gone into administration and has closed down stores just day after its rival Mothercare announced it is shutting all of its shops.
Children and babycare chain Mamas & Papas has immediately axed six stores and made 73 employees redundant, while jobs at its Yorkshire head office are under threat too. Just last week, its rival, Mothercare, revealed it will axe all of its stores, and has launched a .
Mamas & Papas has shut down its "unprofitable stores" in Aberdeen, Preston, Milton Keynes, Lincoln, Leamington and Fareham. Branches in Team Valley, Gateshead and Teesside Shopping Park in Stockton remain open. Mamas & Papas says these stores will trade as normal.
Mamas & Papas was founded in 1981 in Huddersfield. Bluegem took over the business five years ago.
Riccardo Cincotta, executive chairman of Mamas & Papas, said: "These actions are always difficult but they are also necessary in a challenging market to ensure Mamas & Papas achieves its considerable future potential.
"We remain fully focused on maintaining our position as the UK's most popular nursery brand.
"We will continue to review our store portfolio in the light of customers' changing behaviour and we remain fully committed to an omni-channel offering that reflects their evolving needs."
All customer orders, including those placed in now shut-down stores, are unaffected, the retailer says.
