Clintons mulls shutting up more than a hundred shops
Greetings cards chain Clintons is mulling the closure of more than a hundred high street stores.
According to The Telegraph, the chain’s US owner American Greetings is contemplating shutting 120 of its 393 Clintons shops, which have not been modernised yet and are “subject to an ongoing strategic review”.
American Greetings has also slowed down the programme to revamp stores, injecting £1m last year, compared to £14m in 2015. Property agents at Knight Frank, who have been brought in to review the company’s stores, denied there would be a raft of store closures.
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Clintons was bought out of administration by American Greetings in 2011, but it has faced stiff competition from the likes of Card Factory and Paperchase.
An American Greetings spokesperson said: "In the last five years, parent company American Greetings has invested £multi-million in a major store refurbishment programme and there are plans in place for further investment."
They added: "Every retailer reviews its store portfolio on a store by store basis as individual leases come up for renewal, and whilst it is impossible to rule out individual store closures at some point in the future, there are absolutely no programmatic plans as the reports claim."
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It comes after the news that fellow stationery store Staples is set to see its brand disappear from the UK high street, after the sale of its UK arm to restructuring specialist Hilco Capital.
Staples Inc. has sold its UK retail business for a "nominal" amount while the company focuses on a different strategy in Europe.