Plymouth loses a Blockbuster branch as Mutley Plain outlet confirmed as closing

THE Blockbuster branch in Mutley Plain will shut this month with staff facing redundancy.

About 10 people are understood to work at the store, which is selling off "literally everything" inside ahead of the shut down on March 21.

The city's other Blockbuster branch, in Union Street, which employs 10 people, is not on a hit-list of closures, however, and continues to trade.

The DVD and games retail chain went into administration in January, blaming increased competition from internet providers along with the shift to digital streaming of movies and games.

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The chain had 528 stores across the UK, more than twice as many as HMV, which is also in administration, and employed 4,190 people.

Administrators at financial services firm Deliotte shut 160 stores in January and then announced another 164 closures last month.

The Herald was told neither Plymouth branch was on the list, but it has now emerged the initial roster was incomplete and branches have been added, including the Mutley Plain outlet.

A spokeswoman for the administrators was confirmed the closure would take place on March 21 but was unable to say whether the store was part of the job-lot of 49 Blockbuster outlets bought by supermarket giant Morrisons last month.

Britain's fourth-biggest supermarket chain swooped on troubled Blockbuster in an attempt to catch up on the lucrative convenience store sector, in which it has trailed the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury's.

The spokeswoman for administrators said: "The Mutley Plain branch is definitely down as scheduled for closure. Union Street is not on the list."

She was unable to forecast the outcome for staff, but last month administrators said: "Staff in the stores affected by the closures will be facing redundancy.

"A dedicated employee helpline is in place and the company is running an Employee Assistance Programme to help those staff facing redundancy find other jobs."

At the Mutley Plain Blockbuster branch a spokeswoman could only say: "I can't tell you anything."

But she did confirm the closure and that a huge sell-off of stock was ongoing.

"It's literally everything in store," she said. "It's being sold as a percentage discount and the closer we get to closing the higher the percentage will be."

The closure is the latest recent shop shut-down to affect Plymouth after the loss of camera retailer Jessops and the Comet electronics chain.

But the city's branch of fashion retailer Republic, in Drake Circus mall, appears to have been saved after the huge Sports Direct chain this week snapped it up from administrators, safeguarding 2,100 jobs.