House of Fraser set to close 31 stores – with one shutting down earlier than planned

A few months ago, high street store House of Fraser revealed there were planning to shut down over 30 of their locations.

The department store chain House of Fraser have revealed that they will be closing 31 of their 59 UK stores, as part of a deal to rescue the business.

And now, they have shared that one of their stores will be closing much earlier than planned.

House of Fraser have revealed that Frasers department store on Princes Street in Edinburgh will shut down in September. Its estimated closure date had been sometime in 2019.

The news comes as the landlord served an early notice to quit. As such, the shop will now shut on Saturday 15th September – its last day of trading.

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A spokesperson for House of Fraser told the BBC, “The landlord of our Edinburgh Fraser’s store has served us notice.

“House of Fraser is required to exit the store from the 30 September 2018. The last day of trading will be Saturday 15 September.

They went on to reveal that employees have been able to transfer to the nearby Jenners House of Fraser, which is not set to close.

The other stores that have been scheduled for closure will reportedly stay open until early 2019, when House of Fraser will slowly begin to close them. Should all 31 closures go ahead, it’s estimated that 2,000 staff will lose their jobs, including a further 4,000 head office roles.

So is your local House of Fraser on the list to be shut down? Here’s the full list of House of Fraser closures:

• Altrincham
• Aylesbury
• Birkenhead
• Birmingham
• Bournemouth
• Camberley
• Cardiff
• Carlisle
• Chichester
• Cirencester
• Cwmbran
• Darlington
• Doncaster
• Epsom
• Grimsby
• High Wycombe
• Hull
• Leamington Spa
• Lincoln
• London Oxford Street
• London King William Street
• Middlesbrough
• Milton Keynes
• Plymouth
• Shrewsbury
• Skipton
• Swindon
• Telford
• Wolverhampton
• Worcester

House of Fraser chairman Frank Slevin has explained the decision by referencing the difficult climate of the retail industry. He has said that HoF “urgently needs to adapt”, to stay at the forefront.

He said, “Our legacy store estate has created an unsustainable cost base which, without restructuring, presents an existential threat to the business.”

Frank also stated that store closures are “absolutely necessary if we are to continue to trade and be competitive”.

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House of Fraser has been a staple on many high streets for years now – ever since the first store opened in Glasgow in 1849. Over the years, the department store became famous for providing both high-end goods, including homeware and make-up, along with more affordable brands.

The stores also sell a huge range of women and menswear, as well as electrical goods including lighting, hair tools and kitchen electricals.