HIGH STREET BLUES HOUSEHOLD NAMES HIT BY THE DOWNTURN

Facing competition from online retailers and consumers downloading new video games, Game Group announced its closure in March. Rescued by the investment firm OpCapita but more than 300 of its 600 stores will go.

Last December holiday firm Thomas Cook announced it would close 200 of its 1,300 travel shops across the UK in the next two years. The announcement came after a 398m drop in profits. The closures could mean losses of more than 1,000 jobs.

In April babywear retailer Mothercare announced it would be closing 111 stores in the UK by March 2015. This was on top of the 62 UK stores it had already closed. The company has opened 134 new stores overseas however.

The failure of Clinton Cards is the biggest administration of a listed retailer, in terms of UK job losses, since the collapse of Woolworths in 2008. More than 770 stores are now at risk with the potential loss of 8,000 jobs. At its height the company ran more than 1,000 stores and was the countrys largest greeting card retailer.

Fashion retailer Peacocks had an 11th-hour reprieve in February when it was bought out of administration by Edinburgh Woollen Mill. Nevertheless 244 stores across the UK were closed and over 3,000 staff lost their jobs.

The furniture store was one of the earliest casualties of the global economic crisis with all of its 111 UK stores closing in December 2008. Over 1,000 staff lost their jobs.

January 2009 saw the end of an era with the closure of the final 200 Woolworth stores in the UK. The high street giant went into administration in November 2008, taking with it 807 Woolworths outlets and more than 27,000 jobs nationwide.

STORES CLOSED

300

STORES CLOSED

200

STORES CLOSED

62

STORES AT RISK OF CLOSING

770

STORES CLOSED

244

STORES CLOSED

111

STORES CLOSED

200