Swedish hardware chain Clas Ohlson will close its six stores in the UK, to stem “significant losses” incurred by its British operations.
It will also shut four stores in Germany. The closures in both countries will affect around 150 employees.
The company said: “After 10 years, the business in the UK is continuing to incur significant losses despite measures in recent years to optimise the store network.
“The evaluation of the pilot of four stores in Germany has revealed that the operations will be unable to deliver on plan and therefore the right conditions are not in place to achieve profitability.
“Against this background, the store network in the UK and Germany will be discontinued and in line with the new direction our presence in these markets will be concentrated to online shopping. This direction will allow us to develop a scalable business model for the UK and Germany initially, and then later in other markets.”
It added that the closures will be made following “careful consideration” of lease terms for each store, to “optimise total discontinuation costs”.
Its UK stores are located in:
- Manchester Arndale (shopping centre)
- Ealing Broadway Shopping Centre, W5
- Market Place, Kingston upon Thames
- Clayton Square Shopping Centre, Liverpool
- Broad Street, Reading
- The Maltings, St Albans
To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@egi.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @estatesgazette
