NW fears for jobs as Choices chain struggles

Aug 22 2007 by Alistair Houghton, Liverpool Daily Post

HUNDREDS of jobs at entertainment retailer Choices UK are under threat after the group failed to secure the future of its business.

The Peterborough-based business, which employs about 1,800 people and has 170 UK stores, said attempts to sell the firm or strike a refinancing deal had fallen through and administrators would now be called in “as soon as possible”.

The company has struggled in a declining market for CDs and DVDs.

Its stores continued to trade, and staff at its stores in Liverpool, Southport, Waterloo, Ormskirk, Hunts Cross and Huyton will now wait anxiously to discover what happens to the firm.

ChoicesUK has already cut more than 250 jobs since last September as part of a drive to save over £6m, which also saw the closure of dozens of loss-making stores. The firm said recently it had been “plagued” by piracy in the music and entertainment industry.

In the company’s last annual report, former chairman and major shareholder Iain Muspratt called on the Government to “react more positively if they wish legitimate businesses in the sector to prosper”.

Other high street firms have also fallen victim to tough trading conditions in the entertainment industry, with piracy adding to increased competition from internet retailers, digital downloading and supermarkets.

Independent music retailer Fopp went into administration at the end of June, while HMV saw pre-tax profits more than halved from £98.2m to £48.1m.

ChoicesUK reported pre-tax losses of £2.9m in the six months to February 10 and said in April that business deteriorated further in the spring as unseasonably hot weather earlier this year hit DVD and computer game rental business.

Shares in the group were suspended.

ChoicesUK, which floated on the stock market in 2001, operates a mail order business for videos and DVDs, called ChoicesUK.com, alongside its high street presence. It was launched in 1985 by Mr Muspratt and co-founders Diane Gardner and Geoffrey Hopkins.

alistairhoughton