Mothercare To Close Down In Guildford

Published on: 29 Dec, 2018
Updated on: 4 Jan, 2019

Mothercare, the babywear chain, is closing its branch in North Street, Guildford.

The Mothercare shop in North Street with ‘Store Closing – Everything Must Go’ signs in the window.

Signs in the window before Christmas and on the Mothercare website announced “Store Closing – This Location Only – Everything Must Go”.

The firm had reported a ‘crash’ in UK sales over the year. Total UK sales fell by 14.3% to £196.2 million.

The chain had announced in June 2018 that it would be closing 50 shops but had not disclosed the locations. In November 2018, it was reported that it was to shut 60 of its outlets and was ahead of schedule with the closures.

Mothercare has identified savings of £19 million through the store closure process, which will leave it with fewer than 80 UK stores.

The Guildford Dragon NEWS understands that there is no closing date set for the North Street shop. A source said that the firm were going through a consultation process with the staff on options following the closure.

This is on top of the announcement on Friday, December 28, that HMV stores, with a branch in The Friary Centre in Guildford, has called in the administrators. The shop which has been in Guildford for a number of years, previously in Swan lane, would continue to trade while it looked for a buyer.

Owners of HMV. Hilco, blamed a “tsunami” of retail challenges, including, high rents, business rate levels and the move to digital.

Lacklustre performance in shops over Christmas nationally had led to shops cutting prices by up to 70% to attract customers in the sales. Guildford town centre had bucked the trend of falling footfall that had been reported nationally.