There is uncertainty over the future of Peacocks and Edinburgh Woollen Mill stores on the Isle of Wight tonight (Friday) with the parent company on the brink of collapse.
A notice of intention to appoint administrators has been filed by Edinburgh Woollen Mill with blame being people on both the national and local lockdowns, as well as reputational damage.
Almost 25,000 jobs could be affected if the company goes into administration with any action potentially affecting Peacocks stores in Ryde, Newport and Shanklin, as well as the Edinburgh Woollen Mill store in Ryde and Ponden Home in Newport.
The next 10 days are crucial for the company but even if the company can be saved there are likely to be significant changes, which could ultimately mean store closures and/or job losses.
All stores are continuing to trade as normal at this moment in time.
Not really surprising. High streets have been declining for a long time, and with the latest issues with covid this is going to accelerate faster. If the government wants the high street to survive then they need to immediately cut business rates, parking charges and give people an incentive to nip into local shops. But no doubt they will wait until all these places have closed down before doing anything. I think January next year is going to have a huge number of businesses closing down… both big and small.
The Government instead of wasting billions funding dying businesses and keeping the swindling self employed funded, should have created vast awnings over the high streets to provide shelter for shoppers queuing to buy essentials in the wet, cold winter to come.
Otherwise online shopping will kill most shops completely over this coming long Winter, and with so many newcomers arriving daily the unemployment number will ensure many never have a full time job ever again in the vastly changed post CV days to come.
More mouths to feed, and house, and less working to pay to keep such, a disaster in the making with time making the situation ever worse. SEE the real problem in the UK now.
Zero business rates and zero parking charges would help High Street Retailers
Government are reacting to the problem, by relaxing planning control. So shops will become accomodation.
Peacocks in Shanklin has Closing Down Sale on all the Windows.
The problem with the High Streets emptying is because commercial property owners / landlords are too shortsighted and greedy to see they are part of the problem. Reduce the rent by 50% and give retailers a better chance of staying in business. An empty premises generates no income – better to have it let at a greatly reduced rent.
The government and councils allowed to many of the big chains to build out of town stores with free parking.
Unfortunately things have been allowed to go to far and the high streets are slowly dyeing, and what do the Council do? Increase parking charges ! ! !
yes – and all that a prospective business start up will say – “why bother opening a shop in town, all i am doing is busting my arse, just to pay those leeches at the council, a greedy landlord and those leeches at government”