CHICHESTER’S video rental store Blockbuster will close, in a U-turn by administrators today (February 13).
Deloitte were appointed the administrators for the firm in January, and it announced today the intention to close an additional 164 stores over the coming weeks as part of a phased closure.
Chichester’s Market Road store is one of the 164 which will close.
The Bognor Regis store was already on the list for closure in the first store cull – although this has only been confirmed today, despite closing down signs appearing on the store for weeks.
A spokesman for Deloitte said there will be a number of closing down promotions across the stores to supplement those already on offer across the estate.
Staff in the stores affected by the closures will be facing redundancy. A dedicated employee help-line is in place and the company is running an Employee Assistance Programme to help those staff facing redundancy find other jobs.
Closing stores will remain open for business as usual and customers will be notified in advance of closure so that they can return their outstanding rental items beforehand. The standard rental terms and conditions remain in place during this time.
Lee Manning, Joint Administrator, said: “We have continued to review the performance of individual stores since our appointment a month ago and have concluded that further closures are necessary in order to restructure the company for sale.
“We would like to thank the company’s employees for their support and professionalism during this difficult time and we are also grateful for the continued support of customers.
“We are in discussions with a number of parties interested in purchasing all or parts of the business and will update on progress in due course.”
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