Derry Daily
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Sport
  • Features
  • Courts
  • Business
  • Health
  • Politics
  • Jobs
Monday 8°CTuesday 6°C

Derry Daily Derry Daily Derry Daily

  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Sport
  • Features
  • Courts
  • Business
  • Health
  • Politics
  • Jobs
BusinessChristmasDerry CityJobsNews

Debenhams closure ‘darkest hour’ for Derry city centre

written by cassoscoop December 2, 2020
ShareTweet

Debenhams store in Foyleside faces permanent closure after rescue bid fails

THE planned closure of Debenhams in Derry has been described as “the darkest hour” for the city centre.

Debenhams employs hundreds of people across five stores in the North of Ireland, with one store being an anchor tenant in the Foyleside Shopping Centre.

It is expected 12,000 staff will lose their jobs UK-wide after the failure of efforts to save the retailer.

Retail NI chief Glynn Roberts said the store was a “huge driver” in footfall for the city centre.

Staff were told on Tuesday morning about the former high street giant’s fate.

The closure of Debenhams on the heels of the Arcadia Group collapse will impact hundreds of employees in stores located in Belfast, Ballymena, Craigavon, Newry and Derry.

Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle, Mr Roberts said: “It’s probably the grimmest couple of days we have had in the retail sector in a long, long time.

“This [closure] will do huge and systemic change and damage to our high streets and what we need to focus on is how can we move this forward.

“My real fear is that we will now see a domino effect of retailer after retailer closing and that process will be extremely hard to reverse.”

Town and city centres will need to be “reimagined” post-pandemic to become places not just for retail but also for socialising, culture, health, creativity and learning, Mr Roberts said.

Declan Hassan, a former director of Austin’s department store in the city centre, which closed in 2016, said trading on the high street for bricks and mortar businesses has become a “very, very tough game”.

He said the recent high-profile casualty in the retail sector means the city centre is facing into its “darkest hour” and is proof that “radical action is needed” to help save town centres.

“The closure of Arcadia and Debenhams is a great tragedy, this is going to cause major issues for the survival of many town centres across the UK and Ireland.

“If there is no initiative to try and save the town centre now, then in five years time it will be in much worse state.

“You cannot see which way it can go in its present form apart from south,” Mr Hassan added.

Debenhams store in Foyleside faces permanent closure after rescue bid fails

Paul Clancy, who is chief executive of the Derry Chamber of Commerce, said “Foyleside is in shock” over the recent news.

Mr Clancy said management in the shopping centre are “hopeful someone will step in to help fill the units left behind by the Arcadia Group and Debenhams” and “will try and keep as many jobs as possible”.

Mr Clancy estimated there are now 100 people “who are really struggling over what future they will have” so close to Christmas.

Trade unions have urged for a recovery plan for the sector, which faces the loss of tens of thousands more jobs.

The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) said staff should be treated with “fairness and dignity”.

General secretary Paddy Lillis added: “Each one of those job losses is a personal tragedy for the individual worker and store closures are scarring our high streets and communities.”

Debenhams closure ‘darkest hour’ for Derry city centre was last modified: December 4th, 2020 by cassoscoop

Tags:
Austin's Department StoreDebehamsDebenhams closure 'darkest hour' for Derry city centrederry city centreFOYLESIDE SHOPPING CENTREgeneral secretary Paddy LillisGLYN ROBERTSRetail NIUSDAW
ShareTweet
cassoscoop

LEAVE A COMMENT

You may also like

Police investigating sudden death in Derry

33 mins ago

Man arrested over Derry drink-drive scrambler incident

43 mins ago

Eastwood welcomes Irish Government’s renewed commitment to...

54 mins ago

New partnership between NWRC and Open University

1 hour ago

Jobs: E+I Engineering announce multiple vacancies

9 hours ago

McLaughlin expresses concern at Flybe administration

9 hours ago

O’Neill: Red alert for campaign Save Our...

9 hours ago

Eastwood to nominate Bloody Sunday families for...

1 day ago

Memorial service held for Bloody Sunday victims

1 day ago

Harkin: Council Backs Seagate Trade Union Campaign

1 day ago

Keep in touch

Facebook Twitter Email

Features

  • Derry cancer survivor Noeleen McMorris reveals importance of awareness

    July 25, 2022
  • Competition! Win tickets to Northern Ireland v England Women’s Euro 2022 match

    June 17, 2022
  • Glenapp Castle: Only a few miles from home but a million miles away

    December 20, 2021
  • DD Travel Feature: The Unsung Shores of Portugal

    November 12, 2021
  • Derry meeting led young Donegal woman to high profile murder

    July 16, 2021

Courts

  • Two men to stand trial for murder of journalist Lyra McKee

    January 23, 2023
  • Derry man jailed for six years over ‘heinous’ sex offences

    January 18, 2023
  • Top Derry officer not moved as punishment, says chief constable

    January 16, 2023
  • Man charged over police car ramming incident in Derry

    January 16, 2023
  • Former Derry police commander suing PSNI over ‘discrimination’

    January 12, 2023

Donegal Daily

  • 27 refugees moved to well-known Letterkenny premises

    3 hours ago
  • Dog beach ban to come into force this June

    4 hours ago
  • Killybegs Harbour nets €9M for overhaul

    10 hours ago

Read More

  • News
  • Sport
  • Courts
  • Jobs
  • Features
  • Business
  • Politics

Information

  • Contact Us
  • About
  • Advertise WIth Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
Derry Daily

© 2023 Derry Daily. All rights reserved.


Back To Top

Posting....