JTF Mega Discount Warehouse has shrunk to just two stores, following the closure of six during the past three months.
It’s the second time in under a year the chain has been hit by a wave of closures. It fell into administration last summer after all 14 of its stores shut, leading to about 500 redundancies.
It was then bought in September by Poundstretcher subsidiary Bargain Buys, in a deal which allowed the new owners to operate up to nine of the stores across the Midlands and north of England.
However, all the reopened branches have now closed again except for Kidderminster and Hucknall, and the Hucknall unit has been advertised as available to rent since 22 February.
The Tamworth store closed on 24 December, followed by Barrow in January, Leeds in February and Lincoln, Newcastle and Hull during the past week.
The stores had been staging sales offering 50% off everything for a number of weeks, as have some Poundstretcher branches recently.
JTF in Newcastle called it a ‘closing down sale’ for the first time last week on its Facebook page.
Poundstretcher’s Margate branch was rebranded as JTF in January but has since been converted back to Poundstretcher.
Poundstretcher did not respond to The Grocer’s emailed enquiry.
JTF sells home, garden and DIY ranges, along with ‘everyday essentials’ including ambient food and drink. It has previously operated on a membership basis, but stores have recently been telling customers on Facebook that no membership card is needed.
Since June 2020, Poundstretcher has been engaged in a company voluntary arrangement restructuring process designed to turn around the business by cutting costs.
Sky News reported in January that Poundstretcher’s controlling shareholder Aziz Tayub was exploring a sale of the business following the success of the CVA.
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