A question mark hangs over the future of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill store at Brent Knoll’s Sanders Garden Centre after the store’s owners filed for administration.
The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group announced it is planning store closures and is appointing administrators, putting 21,000 jobs at risk across the UK.
Staff at Edinburgh Woollen Mill in Brent Knoll say they have been left in limbo, not knowing when or if the store will close.
“It is a troubling time,” a spokesman for Sanders Garden Centre told Burnham-On-Sea.com.
“Our Edinburgh Woollen Mill store currently remains open for business as usual for the moment while a new buyer is hopefully found for the group, and we hope that it can be saved.”
Edinburgh Woollen Mill chief executive Steve Simpson said: “Like every retailer, we have found the past seven months extremely difficult.”
“This situation has grown worse in recent weeks as we have had to deal with a series of false rumours about our payments and trading which have impacted our credit insurance.”
“Traditionally, EWM has always traded with strong cash reserves and a conservative balance sheet, but these stories, the reduction in credit insurance, against the backdrop of the lockdown and now this second wave of Covid-19, and all the local lockdowns, have made normal trading impossible.”
“As directors we have a duty to the business, our staff, our customers and our creditors to find the very best solution in this brutal environment.”
“Through this process I hope and believe we will be able to secure the best future for our businesses, but there will inevitably be significant cuts and closures as we work our way through this.”
“I would like to thank all our staff for their amazing efforts during this time and also our customers who have remained so loyal and committed to our brands.”
Pictured: The Edinburgh Woollen Mill store at Sanders Garden Centre in Brent Knoll
