The ailing UK-based retail chain, House of Fraser has announced closure of another three of its stores which has put hundreds of jobs at risk. Outlets in Edinburgh, Swindon and Hull are announced to be shuttered soon, while another store in Bath is also staring at a gloomy future. Mike Ashley, Owner, House of Fraser has blamed the landlords for this big move. However, Mike did manage to negotiate with the landlords, as he saved around 20 stores from getting shut, saving about 3,500 employees from losing their jobs.
Reportedly, Mike was asking for low or zero rentals to which the landlords decided not to agree on such terms and that resulted in the closure of the stores. Notably, when Mike Ashley took over the troubled retail chain, he pledged to save around 47 out of 59 outlets of the retailer since he bought House of Fraser for £ 90 million, as it entered administration after failing to overcome declining sales. Mike further elucidated that the company portrayed what it is capable of on the British high street when the retailer and the landlords are on the same page. “I would like to thank those landlords who have helped us to rescue around 3,500 jobs at the stores we have saved to date,” he added.
Additionally, the company managed to save its store in Birkenhead, a constituency that belongs to the veteran MP Frank Field, who termed the news ‘tremendous’.
