Dickins and Jones to go off the London map in January |
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Sun, 19 Jun 2005 09:05
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Almost 170 years of history is set to go down memory lane in January next when London landmark Dickins & Jones closes its shop in the Regent Street. The House of Fraser, which owns the store, is no longer able to prop it up as the steep retail downturn has forced it to cut costs.
The shop has been sold to two property firms in a deal worth £4m ($7m). House of Fraser revealed that it was forced to take this drastic step after a review showed that the store had been unprofitable since 2002 and was no longer worth the high rent that was paid for it. The lease has been sold to Shearer Property and Delancey Estates. These firms plan to redevelop the site.
Announcing the sale, chief executive John Coleman said, "It is with considerable regret that circumstances have forced us to come to the decision. The closure of Regent Street gives something of a wrong picture because we are actually in growth mode, with 20% more sales space planned by 2008. Although you can never say you are happy with falling sales we are doing better than many other people." But he pointed out that in the face of the economic slowdown, consumer spending was bound to remain tight.
| The HoF has said that it plans to move the 500 staff in Dickins and Jones to its other sites in the capital. The firm also revealed that in the first 19 weeks of its financial year, like-for-like sales had fallen by 3.2 percent and consumers were not spending on "big ticket" items with high price tags. In a statement, the House of Fraser said, "Trading conditions in the retail market have continued to be challenging in the early part of this year. Management continues to take further actions in driving margin and cost improvements."
The news of the imminent closure of the store, which has been a London fixture since 1835, has dismayed staff and loyal customers. Maureen Hinton, an analyst at the retail consultancy Verdict, said, "It's gone off the boil completely. The store has really low footfall. There is hardly ever anyone in there. Most people just use the building as a cut-through." Coleman agreed, "Once you're losing money, you're losing money; there's no place for sentiment," he pointed out.
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