Blow for Kennet Shopping centre as Clinton Cards to close

Administrators announced on Wednesday that 350 of the gift and card retailer’s 784 shops were to close, and staff at Kennet Shopping Centre in Newbury have been informed they are to lose their jobs.
Newburytoday understands that the Northbrook Street branch of the cards and gifts retailer will remain open for the foreseeable future, but the outlook is gloomy as no details of exact closures have been officially announced.
Clinton Cards entered administration after its largest American supplier American Greetings called in loans worth £35million which could not be repaid.
It blamed online cards retailers and competition from supermarkets as the reason for its demise.
It is another blow for the Kennet Shopping centre, which has been hit with the loss of several big names in recent years as disposable incomes shrink and store chains are pushed to the brink.
Its fall has been compared to that of Woolworths in 2008, however online speculation is rife that firms such as WH Smith and Card Factory have made enquiries.
The store closure programme will begin on Monday and continue into June.
A partner at administrators Zolfo Cooper, Peter Saville, said given the size of the Clinton Cards retail estate it was left with no alternative to the “difficult” decision.
“I am hopeful that the action we have taken will allow us to preserve value in the core underlying business, thereby allowing us and potential buyers to focus on a profitable and viable retail estate going forward,” he said.
He said it was clear that the business was burdened with an untenable retail estate.