Sony Centre shops owner in administration
THE UK retail sector has suffered further casualties as the slowdown in consumer spending intensifies.
The jobs of dozens of staff at 14 Sony Centres are at risk after the company running them entering administration.
The affected stores are all part of the London-based Sonex Communications group and include outlets in Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet, Ellesmere Port, Liverpool One, Manchester’s Trafford and Arndale Centres and Warrington.
BDO has been appointed administrator for the group and it is keeping the stores trading in the hope they can be saved. Parent Sony UK said it was examining options for the stores.
The firm is thought to have been a victim of the falling demand for high-end electronic goods, as well as competition from the internet.
Fledgling discount trader HUB Retail – which had a store in Manchester Arndale has announced it has liquidated its business with immediate effect, a move resulting in the closure of four stores and the loss of 57 jobs.
The company, set up last year by Dave Dodd, the co-founder of successful discount chain Poundland, had also three stores in the West Midlands.
The firm, whose head office is in Solihull, is now in the process of appointing liquidators. Launched last September, Dodd had said the intention was to follow the Poundland strategy and develop a network of stores across the country.
