Job loss fears at Ethel Austin
There are fears for dozens of retail jobs in Derry after another high street name went into administration.
Ethel Austin, a leading British-based high street fashion store - and its subsidiary Au Naturale, a homeware retailer - took over the old Woolworths store at Ferryquay Street in May 2009, its first venture into the North.
But the future of some 300 stores - including the Derry outlet - now hang in the balance as administrator MCR seeks to find a buyer for both Ethel Austin and Au Naturale.
MCR partner Geoff Bouchier said a bleak January had compounded already difficult trading conditions.
He said all stores would continue to trade as normal but warned that, if a new buyer is not found, redundancies and store closures could not be ruled out.
"The joint administrators are trading the companies in administration in the short term with a view to finding a purchaser for the businesses as a going concern,” he said. We are reviewing the financial position of the companies and are, at this stage, unable to rule out store closures and redundancies.”
The fashion chain employs around 3,700 people in the UK.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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