Tesco has confirmed it has bought the Paperchase brand. It was announced earlier today (January 31) that Paperchase had gone into administration after failing to find a rescue deal, putting 820 jobs at risk across its 106 stores in the UK and Ireland.
Jan Marchant, managing director of home and clothing at Tesco, later said: "Paperchase is a well-loved brand by so many, and we’re proud to bring it to Tesco stores across the UK. We have been building out plans to bring more brands and inspiration to the ranges we currently offer, and this will help us to take those plans further. We look forward to sharing more with our customers in due course."
It is understood that Tesco is only interested in the Paperchase brand and intellectual property, not its stores, which could potentially cost many retail jobs. Owners had put the business up for auction under the advisory firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
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All Paperchase stores are currently operating as normal, including the Nottingham branch. The shop moved from Middle Pavement to Clumber Street in August last year amid the last buyout.
Paperchase has been facing rising costs, poor sales and criticism for the alleged lack of payments to suppliers after the last buyout less than six months ago. It has been a difficult period for retail as sales have dipped amid an ongoing cost of living crisis, recession fears and rising operating bills.
This came after two years of coronavirus restrictions which saw many shops forced to close and rely on online sales. Many are struggling to bounce back after the pandemic.
There have been a number of retail casualties over the past year, including Jack Wills, Cath Kidson and Debenhams. All of these had stores across Nottingham city centre, including Bridlesmith Gate and Market Square, which are still vacant.
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