STAFF at two Oswestry clothing stores spent the weekend fearing for their jobs after the Peacocks clothing firm went into administration last week.
The firm went into administration on Wednesday with debts of £240m, with the Bonmarché business, which it also owns, racing to find new owners before it goes into administration on Thursday.
The two chains share a store running between Cross Street and English Walls. But although both continued to trade over the weekend, staff from neither were available to comment.
Peacocks operate 611 stores and 49 concessions across the country, employing around 9,600 people, while Bonmarché employs around 3,800 staff.
Martin Anderson, chairman of the Oswestry Chamber of Commerce, said the news was “disappointing for the people likely to lose their jobs as well as the overall impact on Oswestry.”
“It is a big premises,” he continued, “but with the state of the economy as it is, it is unlikely someone will want to take them [the businesses] on in a hurry.
“But there is always hope,” Mr Anderson added, “when you look at the town’s former Woolworths store, which was taken over, so, hopefully, someone will come up and bring more jobs into the town with a new business.”
On Wednesday, Chief Executive Richard Kirk said: “Peacocks is a brand with great heritage and it is with deep sadness that we have been left with no other option but to place the business into administration.”
He continued: “This is a hugely sad development for all of our stakeholders, especially our employees who have shown total commitment to the business over an uncertain and difficult period.”
Richard Fleming, Chris Laverty, Ed Boyle and Joff Pope of administrators KPMG says they will now look to find a buyer for the business and confirmed all stores will continue operating as normal with no immediate redundancies.
However, on Thursday, staff at Peacocks’ Cardiff headquarters were told that between 150 and 200 of them will lose their jobs.