ALL Debenhams stores in Britain will close permanently as part of the sale of its brand and website to online retailer Boohoo, its administrators said on Monday(25).
Boohoo had bought the intellectual property assets of collapsed department store Debenhams, allowing it to use its brand going forward.
The cost of the deal was £55 million ($75 million), Boohoo said in a statement.
"I expect that the agreement with Boohoo may provide some job opportunities but we regret that this outcome does not safeguard the jobs of Debenhams' employees beyond the winding down period," said Geoff Rowley, Joint Administrator and Partner of FRP Advisory.
Debenhams collapsed last month with the loss of thousands of jobs, having struggled to adapt from a bricks-and-mortar business long before the coronavirus pandemic forced shoppers online.
Boohoo has acquired assets, including customer data, from outside administrators brought in to salvage parts of the business.
The company said that it plans to rebuild and relaunch the Debenhams online platform, as Boohoo looks to lead the fashion e-commerce market by entering into news areas including beauty, sports and homeware.
"Debenhams is a long-standing and leading UK fashion and beauty retailer with high brand awareness, and an established online platform with approximately 300 million UK website visits per annum," Boohoo said.
"This makes it a top 10 retail website in the UK by traffic."
Debenhams was continuing to engage with a number of third parties regarding the sale of all or parts of the business, administrator FRP Advisory said earlier this month.
The Daily Telegraph reported last month that Authentic Brands, owner of the New York department store brand Barneys, was plotting a takeover of Debenhams and was in talks with its administrators.
Administrators for Debenhams said in December it would be wound down, closing all its shops after 242 years in business and putting 12,000 jobs at risk amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
