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17
Feb
National jewellery chain to close seven stores – but open in Harrogate
The gap on James Street in Harrogate left by the departure of Hugh Rice last September is to be filled by another jewellery business.
National chain Beaverbrooks is to take over the store, and has applied for planning permission for “internally illuminated fascia and projecting signs”, which is expected to be granted within the next three weeks.
The opening of the Harrogate shop will be seen as good news for Harrogate town centre, which has seen many shops, cafés and restaurants close in recent years.
Yet it comes just days after Beaverbrooks announced seven store closures elsewhere around the country. Its shops in Birmingham, Croydon, Dundee, East Kilbride, High Wycombe, Huddersfield and Sutton Coldfield are to shut during March and April.
According to its website, Beaverbrooks currently has 1,200 employees working in 85 shops around the UK. The nearest to Harrogate are in Leeds and York.
Hugh Rice closed its Harrogate shop last year. Image: Google Streetview.
The Hugh Rice shop employed five people when it closed last year. The company said at the time the closure would “help us to further concentrate on growing our other businesses in Hull and Beverley”.
The Stray Ferret has contacted Beaverbrooks for more information.
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