Zavvi announces closure of Ulster stores
UP to 60 employees will lose their jobs after high street retailer, Zavvi, announced the closure of four Ulster stores.
Outlets at Belfast (Castlecourt), Londonderry, Newry and Newtownabbey will close with immediate effect from Wednesday.
A total of 18 UK stores will shut their doors for the final time, creating a total of 353 redundancies.
The leading high street chain went into administration on Christmas Eve.
Alliance enterprise spokesman Sean Neeson said the announcement had "rocked the local retail industry".
"This is yet more bad news for Northern Ireland and there is little sign that the Stormont Executive's work is doing anything to help stop the continuous job losses," the MLA said.
"Local ministers must show leadership and vision to protect our economy. We need radical strategies to promote entrepreneurship and take an environmentally-sound path out of these tough economic times."
A spokesman for joint administrators, Ernst & Young, revealed despite over 70 offers of interest for the ailing music business, officials have had to reduce costs.
"We will however continue to trade the remaining zavvi stores with a view to selling all or part of the zavvi business as a going concern," he said.
"We remain optimistic that current sale negotiations will prove successful and that a sale can be achieved.
"We are extremely grateful to the staff and management at all stores and the head office for their fantastic support throughout this difficult time," he added.
As the economic crisis continues to have a detrimental impact locally, the Zavvi announcement follows redundancies at Woolworths and Marks and Spencer.
Earlier this week, furniture retailer Land of Leather expressed fears of job losses.
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Monday 13 February 2012
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