Everyone saw the news last week regarding one of the high street’s longest standing commercial properties entering administration. It was only a matter of time before commercial property closures were announced and job losses became inevitable. But maybe we weren’t expecting it quite so soon.
The administrators for Clinton Cards PLC, Zolfo Cooper have announced that 2,800 people will lose their jobs when all of the 139 Birthday’s commercial properties and roughly 200 Clinton Cards shops are closed for good. It is unclear as to which stores will be closed, but it will affect the whole of the UK and is expected to start today and continue into next month.
The remaining 500 commercial properties will remain open, but their future is still unclear, unless a buyer for the company is found.
Speaking of the announcement, Peter Saville from Zolfo Cooper, said: “Given the sheer size of the Clinton Cards retail estate and the overall performance, we were left with no alternative to [the] difficult decision.
“I am hopeful that the action we have taken will allow us to preserve value in the core underlying business, thereby allowing us and potential buyers to focus on a profitable and viable retail estate going forward.”
Clinton Cards has been on the high street for 44 years, since Don Lewin OBE opened the first store in Essex in 1968. The business grew over the next two decades and by 1988 the chain had 77 commercial properties operating throughout the UK.
In 1994, the company had 227 stores under its umbrella, but they weren’t stopping there. That year, they acquired Hallmark Cards, adding 83 stores to their portfolio and a year later, they acquired Carlton Cards and their 112 commercial properties. In 1998 they bought 211 stores which belonged to GSG Holdings Limited, bringing the total number of commercial properties to 633.
It wasn’t until 2004 that they made their final purchase, buying The Birthdays Group, which they ran as a separate company.
However, Clintons Cards share of the card market, from birthdays to Valentine’s Day, and Christmas to a new baby was slipping away. With the rise of supermarkets selling cards, enabling people to pick up a card with the weekly shop and the ever growing rise of online shops, such as Moon Pig and Funky Pigeon – the stiff competition proved too much for the retailer.
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It is a shame that they have to close, but obviously they were the least profitable shops. No point carrying dead weight at the end of the day!
Quite true Ian. For the business to survive they must review their portfolio and dispose of the least profitable shops.