143 jobs to be axed as Liverpool retailer closes Bolton division
An online clearance shop which is based in Bolton is to close with the loss of 143 jobs.
Liverpool based retailer Shop Direct has announced it wants to close down its Littlewoods Direct operation.
A total of 28 jobs could be lost at the head office of the business as well as a further 25 jobs at its Bolton distribution centre.
The business also includes seven UK stores branded The Outlet, websites including Bargain Crazy.
Shop Direct has announced it is entering into a consultation process with the staff affected by the closure.
The process is expected be completed by the end of February 2019.
Littlewoods Clearance sells unsold stock from Shop Direct’s retail brands, including Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com.
Sam Perkins, group retail director at Shop Direct, remarked: “While it has been successful in clearing unsold stock for many years, our standalone operation Littlewoods Clearance is expensive to run and is losing money.
“Aware of this, and the need to continue our digital transformation, which has seen us remove the catalogue and consolidate brands in recent years, we reviewed alternative options for clearance.”
He added: “We found that selling unsold stock in bulk to third parties is the most efficient way to clear it.
“Simplifying our approach in this way will allow us to free up money to invest further in our digital future and focus on our core pureplay online business.”
Littlewoods Clearance stores are in Bulwell, Ebbw Vale, Flint, Heckmondwike, Llandudno, Newtown, and Wisbech, with each site employing between eight and 17 staff.
In September Shop Direct announced it had suffered a multi-million-pound loss for the year as a result of store closure costs and PPI mis-selling payouts.
The firm posted pre-tax losses of £24.7 million in the year to June 30, down from a profit of £24.9 million a year earlier.
In April of this year Shop Direct announced that 1,992 employees would be made redundant as it shut three warehouses in Shaw, Little Hulton and Raven.
Shop Direct said these sites no longer met its “operational ambitions”, due to limited accessibility options.
