Anger as head office denies Hitchin Dorothy Perkins closure
Dorothy Perkins was going to be closing down - Credit: Archant
A HEAD office has been criticised for saying one of its stores will not close – even though a sign in the window says it will and staff have been told they are being made redundant.
The sign which stated the store was closing - Credit: Archant
Dorothy Perkins in Hitchin will shut after parent group Arcadia agreed to close a number of stores nationwide.
But the company, which also owns Topshop, Miss Selfridge and BHS, has said the store will not close, even though there are signs in the windows saying it is and staff have confirmed they have been told it will.
It is believed the Hitchin store, which is situated on Bancroft, will result in eight jobs being lost when it closes on June 22.
A spokesman from head office told the Comet this morning (Wednesday) the store would not be closing, after being contacted yesterday first thing.
The Comet has challenged the claim and is waiting for a response.
But town centre manager Keith Hoskins said he was “very angry” about the denial.
Most Read
- 1 11-year-old boy 'seriously injured' after e-scooter and car crash
- 2 Weston fraudster given jail time after scamming council out of £700,000
- 3 Licence review for Hitchin's Chicken George after neighbour complaint
- 4 Programme of one-off summer workshops at The Settlement
- 5 Crowds gather to mark Armed Forces Day in Letchworth
- 6 Bid to find living kidney transplant donor for Hitchin girl
- 7 'He lives on in the hearts of those who knew him' - hundreds pay respects to Kajetan at moving mass
- 8 Avid quizmaster raising funds for rape and sexual assault support service
- 9 Stevenage woman, 52, accused of wounding 91-year-old in her own home
- 10 Decision on controversial Lord Lister application deferred
On the closure itself, he added: “It’s nothing to do with the performance of the store locally and it’s not through any fault of the trading position in Hitchin.
“All I can think is that maybe the landlord has somebody in mind to go in there, because I don’t understand why he wouldn’t do a deal with Dorothy Perkins to keep them in there.”
The building where the store is based was split between the women’s chain and the former Early Learning Centre, which is also vacant.
