Clothing and home furnishings retailer Laura Ashley is to close 35 stores in Europe in the wake of difficult Christmas trading, it emerged yesterday.
The group said the proposals would see it exit completely from Germany and reduce its presence in Holland, Belgium and France.
The moves come two weeks after Laura Ashley stunned investors by warning results for the last year would be substantially below hopes.
It blamed much of the setback on poor sales in continental Europe and admitted its UK business had also been hit by tougher trading conditions, including over the Christmas period.
Yesterday's announcement, which is still subject to discussions with relevant works councils, will leave the company with 18 stores in continental Europe, all of which the company said were profitable.
Last year, Laura Ashley had 64 European sites but disposed of 11 stores in France and Germany in November. It has 203 UK stores.
Chief executive KC Ng said: "We believe by closing all our loss- making stores, this will place the company on a firmer footing for its further development."
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