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04
Feb
Major Ripon store announces closure
A major Ripon retailer is set to close after announcing a closing down sale.
The Original Factory Shop, which is based on Fishergate, has traded in the city for 40 years.
However, the store has put up multiple signs in its windows announcing a closing down sale and declaring “everything must go”.
The move comes as The Factory Shop Ltd, which trades as The Original Factory Shop, was placed in administration on January 28.
Richard Harrison and James Clark, of restructuring firm Interpath, were appointed joint administrators and said the company’s 137 stores would continue to operate as a “going concern while they assess options for the business”.
However, the company’s online store was closed.
Administrators said the company, which employs 1,180 staff, had experienced challenging trading conditions, driven by high cost inflation, fragile consumer confidence and government policies which "have led to significant increases in employment costs".
They added that the problems were exacerbated by issues with the firm’s third-party warehouse and logistics operator, which significantly impacted sales.
In a statement, Mr Harrison said:
The Original Factory Shop has long-been a cornerstone of local high streets up and down the country. Unfortunately, however, trading challenges have impacted the business such that the company had to be placed into administration.
In a post on its Facebook page today (February 4), the Ripon store said it had yet to be informed of a closing date.
It said:
Everything in store is now sold as seen so check the sizes try them on in our in store fitting room as returns are no longer accepted.
During this time myself and my team are working extremely hard so please be respectful and show some patience as foot flow is obviously increased and my staff are under extreme pressure too.
Also we do not have a closing date. As stated in my previous post I will update as soon as any information is received.
The Stray Ferret asked administrators Interpath whether it had a timescale for the closure of the Ripon store.
A spokesperson for the joint administrators said:
Our priority remains to assess all of the options available, including exploring the possibility of a sale of the business and its assets. In the meantime, however, we have commenced closing down sales in each of the company’s stores in order to sell the remaining stock.
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