Nov 5, 2019
All Mothercare UK stores to shut, administrator confirms
Mothercare's 79 remaining UK stores will be closed after PwC were appointed administrators to the UK business, dashing hopes that a buyer might be found for some or all of the shops. "This is a sad moment for a well-known high street name," said Zelf Hussain, a partner at PwC. "No one is immune from the challenging conditions faced by the UK retail sector. Like many other retailers, Mothercare has been hit hard by increasing cost pressures and changes in consumer spending." "It's with real regret that we have to implement a phased closure of all UK stores. Our focus will be to help employees and keep the stores trading for as long as possible," said Mr Hussain. In a separate statement, Mothercare chairman Clive Whiley said the UK high street "Is facing a near existential problem with intensifying and compounding pressures across numerous fronts" including high overheads and changing consumer behaviour. Mothercare's demise in the UK means that all three companies in Terence Conran's Storehouse retail empire have ceased to exist in their prior forms; BHS went bust in 2016 and Habitat went into administration in 2011, although some of its stores in London along with the brand name are now owned by J Sainsbury.
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