South Wales Evening Post - 27 January 2009
Staff at two Swansea shoe shops are waiting to hear if their jobs are safe.
High street shoe shop chains Barratts and PriceLess have gone into voluntary administration, it has been announced.
The two chains have 380 stores nationwide, including two in the Quadrant Shopping Centre.
However, yesterday both shops were open for business.
Jackie Griffiths, manager of the city centre PriceLess branch, said the store's seven staff had been told to carry on as normal.
She said: "We have had good feedback from the area manager.
"If it was full administration, we would have been closed. As far as I know, they are saying trade as normal.
No-one from Swansea's Barratts store was available for comment.
In total, the stores employ 5,450 people nationwide.
Barratts and PriceLess are owned by a Bradford-based firm Stylo.
The parent company is not in administration, but its shares have been suspended.
Deloitte partner Daniel Butters said: "Stylo has faced a downturn in trading as a result of the current difficult economic and market conditions."
The administrators hope creditors of PriceLess and Barratts will agree to place the businesses into a company voluntary arrangement (CVA), a deal regarding the payment of their debts.
This meant, Deloitte said, that creditors and landlords would effectively be given a chance to vote on the future of the shoe chains.
Under the CVA, creditors and landlords vary their terms of trade to give Barratts and PriceLess breathing space.
Mr Butters added: "We are seeking to enable the rescue of Barratts and PriceLess, while giving creditors and landlords certainty over their own positions.
"Ultimately, we are giving creditors and landlords a chance to vote on the future of the companies."
Comments (1)
Having almost had my head chopped of by having to limbo under a (early closing) PriceLess store shutter before Xmas by a member of staff who couldn't wait to get home, such 'customer devotion' is now rewarded in possible store closure, it proves there is a 'God' after all! Priceless shoes were cheap but they looked cheap! Sad to see Barratts go though, as a customer, I was always treated well. Hope there is light ahead of the tunnel for them. Jim Sheridan
James Sheridan, Swansea
commented on 27-Jan-2009 16:21
