The administrators of U.K. entertainment retailer Zavvi have closed a further 15 stores with the loss of 295 jobs.
The latest round of closures today (Jan. 29) means there are now 48 U.K. stores still trading. Zavvi went into administration – roughly equivalent to Chapter 11 bankruptcy – on Dec. 24.
A month ago there were 114 U.K. Zavvi stores and 11 in Ireland. On Jan. 14, rival entertainment retailer HMV acquired nine of the U.K. Zavvi sites and five stores in Ireland. The purchase and rebranding process will cost £2 million ($2.86 million), of which £700,000 ($1 million) was the purchase price.
Tom Jack, joint administrator at Ernst & Young, said in a statement: “We continue to trade 48 stores in the U.K., however in doing so we have to manage the cost base of the company with a view to maximising returns to creditors. This includes a constant re-evaluation of our property portfolio in line with trading performance. Consequently, with reducing stock levels we have had to manage our cost base accordingly and close a further 15 stores.
“At this time we are continuing to look to further progress interest from a number of interested parties and consequently do not have a formal closure plan for the entire store network.”
