Mothercare restructuring: 79 shops and 2,500 jobs in danger
and live on Freeview channel 276
Consultants from accounting firm KPMG have been called in to help save the ailing retailer, which lost £36.3 million last year.
What next for Mothercare?
Mothercare, which was founded in 1961 in Surrey, is said to be considering selling off its UK arm in a bid to balance the books.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe company operates a huge international business of more than 400 stores through a system of franchises, which executives could choose to copy in the UK.
It would mean closing its remaining 79 stores and operating more like a supplier than a retailer.
A troubled decade
Mothercare’s UK business has struggled to turn a profit for more than 10 years, and has built up significant debts. The company has cut costs, and closed 58 stores over the past 18 months in an effort to balance the books.
While executives claim that the company will be debt free by 2020, it still faces an uphill struggle in an increasingly competitive market, and Mothercare’s share price has almost halved since June this year.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdIn January it was revealed that even Mothercare’s online sales were struggling, falling by 16 per cent over 12 months.
In March, the company sold off its Early Learning Centre arm for £13.5 million, stating that it did not have the money needed to invest in the brand.
Mothercare Stores in the UK
Basildon
Chelmsford
Harlow
Ipswich
Norwich
Peterborough
Stevenage
Watford
West Thurrock
Derby
Leicester
Lincoln
Northampton
Nottingham
Croydon
Edmonton
Greenwich
Harrow
Hayes
Kingston Upon Thames
London
Orpington
Romford
Stratford
Wood Green
Aintree
Bromborough
Chester
Gateshead
Manchester
Prescot
Preston
Warrington
Lisburn
Newry
Newtownabbey
Aberdeen
Dundee
Edinburgh
Falkirk
Glasgow
Aylesbury
Basingstoke
Canterbury
Dartford
Eastbourne
Havant
Milton Keynes
Reading
Slough
Southampton
Bristol
Gloucester
Plymouth
Poole
Swindon
Taunton
Torquay
Truro
Cardiff
Swansea
Dudley
Leamington Spa
Rugby
Solihull
Stoke On Trent
Tamworth
Telford
Worcester
Huddersfield
Huntington
Kingston Upon Hull
Leeds
Sheffield
Wakefield