The Original Factory Shop will be permanently closing eight of its high street stores this weekend, with plans for three additional closures later this summer. The stores being shut down include locations in Perth, Chester Le Street, Arbroath, Kidwelly, Pershore, Normanton, Peterhead, and Shaftesbury, all closing on June 28.
Following these closures, the Original Factory Shop will proceed to close its Staveley branch on July 12, followed by its Cupar store on July 27. The closure date for the Middlewich branch has not been confirmed yet. This decision follows the recent closures of shops in Heswall and Milford Haven earlier this month.
Several of the stores have been promoting closing down sales on social media platforms. For instance, the Peterhead store is currently offering discounts of up to 70%. In a post, the store expressed gratitude to its customers, inviting them to visit before the closure on June 28.
The closures are part of a larger restructuring effort by the company’s owner, Modella Capital, which aims to renegotiate rents at 88 of its 178 stores through a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA). A CVA is an agreement between a business and its creditors to repay debts over a fixed period, subject to creditor approval. The Original Factory Shop currently employs approximately 2,000 individuals.
A spokesperson for the company emphasized the challenging decision to close stores, highlighting their commitment to maintaining operations as much as possible, contingent upon successful negotiations with landlords. They confirmed the closure of two stores and mentioned that a few others are under review, with their future dependent on ongoing discussions with landlords.