Ethel Austin goes into administration (From St Helens Star)

Ethel Austin goes into administration

1:03pm Monday 8th February 2010

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WOMEN’S clothing store Ethel Austin has been placed into administration, but will continue trading until a buyer has been found.

The business, which was formed 70-years-ago, has 300 stores nationwide, including one in the Hardshaw Centre.

Geoff Bouchier, partner at administrators MCR stressed they were unable to rule out store closures and redundancies. He explained: “In the current economic climate, there are no guarantees that purchasers will be found.

“There is no doubt in our mind that the onset of the global economic crisis has hit the retail sector particularly hard. As a consequence of this the companies have struggled to secure funders, which has impacted their ability to generate sales revenue.

“This has been compounded by poor trading conditions in January attributed to the adverse weather, which severely restricted the company’s cash flow.”

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