Another blow for Plymouth's retail centre as sports shop pulls out
TROUBLED retailer JJB Sports is to shut its city centre store.
The closure is yet another blow for lower New George Street which is now being seen as creating a "barrier" of empty shops.
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Woolworths, Officers Club, Game, Hawkins Bazaar, Derrys, TJ Hughes and Nectar are just some of the casualties along what was once the city's most bustling shopping stretch.
JJB will join them next Tuesday – or sooner if it runs out of stock. Twelve jobs will be lost.
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Store manager Jon Evans told The Herald: "We are at the wrong end of town."
City centre manager Clint Jones said losing JJB meant there was now a "chunk" of units sitting empty and creating "a bit of a barrier".
But he stressed the rest of the city centre was relatively healthy, with a vacancy rate of just 11 per cent, below the 11.6 per cent national average.
And he stressed stores were coming in, with a retailer eyeing part of the vacant Woolworths site, and Shoe Zone relocating to the empty Currys unit.
Meanwhile the rest of Plymouth continues to attract big names, with computer giant Apple among retailers arriving at Drake Circus Shopping Centre and a spate of restaurants gravitating to the Royal William Yard.
"Even around the West End (of the city centre) the vast majority are let," Mr Jones said.
And Ray Robins, chairman of the Market Traders' Association and Cornwall Street Shopkeepers Association, insisted Cornwall Street remained buoyant and Plymouth City Market, the pannier market, remained about "85 per cent full".
But he said JJB's closure was "A big blow for Plymouth."
JJB workers were told the branch was doomed last week but only yesterday put out "closing down" signs and slashed prices by 50 per cent.
Store manager Mr Evans added that staff numbers had "dwindled" from a peak of 40 to just a dozen.
"Me and my team will be made redundant and have to find other jobs," he said.
But he was upbeat about their chances and added: "If you want to get a job you'll get one."
The closure comes a year after loss-making JJB shut about 30 stores when it entered a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).
The firm is still up for sale but this week rival JD Sports Fashion pulled out of the running to buy it.
A JJB spokesman said that while Plymouth's store has survived an initial wave of closures it had now been decided to shut more.
Administrators KPMG has been appointed to sell JJB and has been in talks with several parties, including private equity groups.
Mike Ashley's rival Sports Direct Group is now thought to be the front-runner to take over the remaining JJB empire.
Comments
by firkinjeffery
Sunday, September 23 2012, 5:10PM
“Has Brentford Nylons gone???
Cant have it all. Out of town shopping bully boy planning applications by the likes of Tesco etc. plus they are in the city center, win win for them. Then of course the money saving Net shopping, i don't even have to bother to get dressed or pay car parking charges.
i suppose Tudor and Viv could turn the center into a giant ice rink, then skate hand in hand into the sunset!!! "Imagine"!!! Job done the city all sold off to the lowest bidder. enjoy...”
by PL1Plym
Sunday, September 23 2012, 1:46PM
“Nylon World to close.... Are all the sporty people going to have to waddle up to Sports Soccer now?
Yes it's sad that people are going to lose tier jobs. Maybe it's a good time to review the City Centre. Wouldn't it be better to have quality rather than quantity? Is the area, in the age of internet shopping too big? Why not move everything towards the top end of town and redevelop the bottom end?”
by MikeSpiligan
Saturday, September 22 2012, 5:25PM
“It's no moer than what the developers want so that they can bulldoze the whole area and get another casino/trinket selling shopping mall/Starbucks/All bar one in it's place”
by asctty
Saturday, September 22 2012, 11:44AM
“@2020 Truth,
Since when do Arcadia own any interest in JJB. Never, so it's not there fault that people decide to shop in their stores and make a profit out of it.
Most of these 'sports' stores sell tat that no real sportsperson would use hence they are failing all over the country.
Yes it is a shame for the area, but if it wasn't making any money, then neither was Plymouth!”
by 2020truth
Saturday, September 22 2012, 11:00AM
“Just a sign of the times!
With the likes of Philip Green operating so many shops under the Arcadia set up where the massive profits are hidden away offshore to avoid UK tax (despite being earnt from UK workers incomes), perhaps the other shop operators cannot afford to pay their way as well as Arcadia's?
As always and forever with politicians and their friends in the city, the more you take from the UK the less you pay!”
by Waltersmith
Saturday, September 22 2012, 8:48AM
“This area has effectively ceased to function”
by hstmtu4000
Saturday, September 22 2012, 2:14AM
“Quote "Store manager Jon Evans told The Herald: "We are at the wrong end of town" say no more!.As for Clint Jones comments,its not just the percentage of shops occupied that matters but the quality of the shops themselves.Take out all the charity shops,building societies,money lenders etc and there really is nothing from the sun dial down now of national retail quality.End of.
As the old saying goes Mr Jones "theres nowt so blind as those who dont want to see".”
by catdaddy1214
Saturday, September 22 2012, 12:43AM
“I guess this means the National Day of Mourning Chavs is upon us.”
by Workitout
Friday, September 21 2012, 10:26PM
“Charge too much and they will Go”
by evs72
Friday, September 21 2012, 6:51PM
“the whole of town is dieing not just the bottom end.with all the roadworks,bad road layouts(pedestrians and cars in same space do not mix) and the fact that you are only allowed to park for an hour at that end of town its a wonder how so many shops have lasted this long.
we have the council to thank for this mess as most people would rather spend 30 minutes in tthe car and go to exeter and not be sat in traffic for ages.”