The future of its 45 franchised stores, which are primarily in the Middle East, south east Asia and eastern Europe, also depends on whether a buyer can be found for the UK business.
Earlier on Tuesday, sports retailer JD Sports Fashion confirmed that it had ended discussions about buying Debenhams.
“The economic landscape is extremely challenging and, coupled with the uncertainty facing the UK retail industry, a viable deal could not be reached,” joint administrator at FRP Advisory, Geoff Rowley said in the statement.
Debenhams said the closure does not impact Magasin du Nord, its department store chain with seven outlets in Denmark, which continues to operate independently.
Debenhams, on the other hand, might finally have run out of road. “Arcadia’s brands have an opportunity to survive if broken up but after operating in its second round of administration for some time, Debenhams’ hopes of living on are slim,” said Pippa Stephens, a retail analyst at GlobalData.
The Office for Budget Responsibility, Britain’s independent fiscal watchdog, said last week that it expects unemployment to rise to 7.5% by the second quarter of 2021, meaning 2.6 million people will be without jobs — 1 million more than the current level.
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