LONDON (Alliance News) - John Lewis of Hungerford PLC on Thursday said it will close its showrooms in Harrogate and Tunbridge Wells, following a review of its trading estate.
The kitchen, bedroom and furniture retailer said it has made this decision after assessing the prospects for each showroom and their recent financial performance.
It noted that Tunbridge Wells has been performing materially below its other showrooms, while the average sales performance of the Harrogate showroom does not warrant the costs associated with supporting a showroom in the north of the country. The two showrooms contributed sales in aggregate of GBP370,000 in the last full year.
Both showrooms are expected to cease trading by the end of 2016, with costs associated with the closures expected to be around GBP100,000.
"We continue to trade nationally with a more mobile sales team. This allows the business to focus on the South of England which supports our drive for improved operational efficiencies," the company said in a statement.
Shares in John Lewis of Hungerford were trading down 15% at 0.940 pence on Thursday morning following the announcement.
By Karolina Kaminska; karolinakaminska@alliancenews.com @KarolinaAllNews
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