Closure of Athlone fashion store announced
The shutters have come down on the Athlone Towncentre branch of the fashion store Quiz, after it was confirmed that its parent company has gone into administration.
A spokesperson said today that the Athlone branch and 22 other Quiz stores were "deemed to be loss-making or unsustainable" and that they had been closed by the administrator.
No details were provided on behalf of the company about the number of jobs lost in Athlone as a result of Quiz's closure.
A statement issued to the Westmeath Independent this evening said: "Quiz confirms that Teneo have been appointed as administrators to the company's wholly owned subsidiary, Zandra Retail Limited ('Zandra'), which operates Quiz's standalone UK and Ireland retail stores.
"This decision was taken by the board to put the business in a more sustainable position in the context of continuing challenging trading conditions negatively impacting the Group’s performance."
The statement said that 42 Quiz stores would continue to trade, and that this would "preserve the majority of the group's retail employees".
However it said, "regrettably," a decision had been taken by the administrator to close 23 stores in the UK and Ireland, including the Athlone branch and other stores in Newbridge, Tallaght, Enniskillen and Derry.
Quiz said its online business was "unaffected" by the store closures.
Sheraz Ramzan, CEO of Quiz, commented: "The board took the difficult decision to appoint administrators to Zandra Retail Limited in light of the continuing challenging trading conditions impacting the group's performance.
"We are deeply sorry to those affected by the store closures, including our retail colleagues.
"However, this decision will put the business in a more sustainable footing for the future and protect several hundred jobs as a result."