Clintons to Close 38 Stores Amid Financial Crisis
Greeting cards giant Clintons is planning to shut down around 20% of its shops to dodge insolvency. This would be the third financial scare for the retailer in just 11 years. Rescued from administration in 2012 and 2019, Clintons’ future now hangs in the balance if a deal isn’t struck soon.
Cost-Cutting Measures and Job Worries
Currently, Clintons runs 179 stores and employs roughly 1,400 staff. It has brought in restructuring firm FRP Advisory to sort out its mess, though both parties are tight-lipped on details. The Times reports that 38 outlets are set to close as the company battles harsh trading conditions worsened by the pandemic.
High Street Blues: Wilko Faces Collapse, Joins Clintons in Trouble
Clintons isn’t alone in crisis. Wilko, the homewares retailer, revealed last week it’s on the brink of collapse, threatening 12,000 jobs. Wilko’s CEO Mark Jackson admitted efforts to secure funds failed to meet deadlines, highlighting deep financial woes across the High Street.
From Glory Days to Grim Reality
Once a High Street titan with nearly 800 stores and 8,000 staff, Clintons has been in decline since 2012. That year, it shut 350 shops and lost almost 3,000 jobs before American Greetings, backed by the US-based Weiss family, stepped in to rescue it. The Weiss family again saved the company in 2019, but further cuts followed.
Clintons traces its roots to Don Lewin, the son of an East End chimneysweep, who founded the firm in 1968. His entrepreneurial spirit made him a multi-millionaire, earned him an OBE, and inspired his autobiography, Think of a Card.
