DOUGLAS womenswear shop Bonmarché is earmarked for closure – with the owners blaming difficult trading conditions.
The Strand Street outlet currently has a closing down sale and is one of 160 across the British Isles due to shut, with the loss of some 1,600 jobs.
In a statement, the company said: ‘Isle of Man Bonmarché store is currently earmarked for closure.
‘The decline in customer spend in the current economic climate, coupled with rising costs has made trading very difficult in this area. However, such stores are being constantly reviewed and careful consideration given. We are in discussions with landlords and councils to reduce costs and improve town amenities. We are looking at the convenience of the customer and the distance she will have to travel to an open store.’
Bonmarché has been open in Strand Street for almost four years, and employs nine staff, seven of whom are part-time.
The island branch had been facing an uncertain future ever since its parent company, discount chain Peacocks, collapsed into administration last year.
There was hope that the Strand Street shop could survive when Bonmarché was acquired by private equity firm Sun European Partners in a £10 million deal. Some 230 stores have been saved – but 160 more are facing closure, including the island’s.
The outlook for discount fashion chain Peacocks is also far from certain. Its two Isle of Man branches – in the Strand Shopping Centre and at Victoria Road Shoprite – remain open.
Administrator KPMG is still hoping to find a buyer for the historic chain which traces its roots back to 1884, but have warned of substantial job losses. Almost half of its head office staff in Cardiff have been made redundant.
Peacocks has more than 600 stores and concessions in the UK, and 117 other stores around the world.
A branch has been located in the Strand Shopping Centre, since the centre opened. It employs 15 members of staff, part-time and full-time.
Last week, it emerged that Edinburgh Woollen Mill had pulled out of the bidding for Peacocks, putting the Pakistani textile billionaire Alshair Fiyaz in a leading position to buy the fashion chain.