Adams to remain in Athlone but Sasha closes

This week brought good and bad news for local commerce as childrenswear store Adams is set to remain open in Athlone, but fashion chain Sasha has shut its doors, as the collapse in retail spending continues to bite locally. Three hundred jobs have been shed nationwide with the liquidation of ladies" fashion company Sasha, who have an outlet in Golden Island Shopping Centre. The firm had debts of €9.84 million on its books in October. Last November the unlimited company behind the chain, Denholme, went into interim examinership to 'facilitate proposed new investment from a number of interested parties'. However, the new investment failed to materialise and staff representatives were briefed on the closure of the 42 stores around the country yesterday afternoon (Tuesday). David Carson of Deloitte has been appointed liquidator to Denholme in the High Court, an appointment which followed his work as examiner and interim examiner of the company, first established back in 1982. However, there were better tidings for Adams who will remain a fixture on the Athlone streetscape after a rescue deal with its former owner that looks set to preserve the 1,900 jobs in the 120 Irish and British stores. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said this the week the business was sold to Northern Ireland businessman John Shannon - who originally bought Adams out of administration two years ago and the purchase would safeguard the future of the brand and jobs of the chain"s remaining 1,900 workers in Ireland and the UK. Adams currently operate 31 outlets in the Republic with the Athlone arm based at Belhavel. The deal between PwC and Mr Shannon"s newly formed company JS Childrenswear comes just six weeks after the administrators were called in. PwC has already closed 147 stores in recent weeks and shed more than 1,100 jobs in the UK. Rob Hunt, joint administrator and partner at PwC said this week: 'We are delighted to be able to secure this business sale and provide some much needed stability for customers, suppliers and employees.' He added the sale is the best deal for all concerned, saying administrators had received a number of expressions of interest for the chain. The clothing retailer for children was previously bought out of collapse in 2007 by John Shannon.