Debenhams to close all stores as Boohoo buys brand and website for £55m

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Online fashion retailer Boohoo has bought the Debenhams brand and website for £55 million in a deal that will see the eponymous department store name survive, but the company’s remaining 118 stores close for good.

The deal will see Debenhams products sold by Boohoo from early next year, allowing enough time for liquidators to continue closing the retailer’s sites once they are allowed to reopen after Covid-19 lockdown restrictions are lifted.

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But with stores closing across the 242-year-old brand, it is unlikely many of the remaining 12,000 jobs are likely to be saved.

Debenhams, which has stores in Preston. Blackpool and Wigan, had already announced significant job losses and the permanent closure of six stores, including its flagship outlet on London’s Oxford Street.

Debenhams' stores in Blackpool and PrestonDebenhams' stores in Blackpool and Preston
Debenhams' stores in Blackpool and Preston
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Debenhams closures a massive body blow to staff and Lancashire shoppers

The company highlighted how Debenhams has six million beauty shoppers and 1.4 million Beauty Club members.

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It said: “The group intends to rebuild and relaunch the Debenhams platform, helping further the group’s stated ambition to lead the fashion eCommerce market, and grow into new categories including beauty, sport and homeware.”

Debenhams’ own fashion brands will also be absorbed into Boohoo’s current portfolio and sold via the Debenhams website.

Boohoo chief executive John Lyttle said: “The acquisition of the Debenhams brand is an important development for the group, as we seek to capture incremental growth opportunities arising from the accelerating shift to online retail.”

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Founder and executive chairman, Mahmud Kamani, added: “Our acquisition of the Debenhams brand is strategically significant as it represents a huge step which accelerates our ambition to be a leader, not just in fashion eCommerce, but in new categories including beauty, sport and homeware.”

Boohoo has previously bought a number of well-known high street brands out of administration, turning them into online-only operations, including Oasis, Coast and Karen Millen.

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