For those who are still determined to pursue a career in retail under the Debenhams' banner they had better be quick. 97 stores will open on Monday 12 April for one last shoorah, before they slam shut for good. Boohoo, who bought the brand as part of the last ditch deal at the beginning of the year, have no interest in physical stores and it seems there are still quite a lot of items to shift from the stockrooms of the shops.
Eager shoppers should be warned that what is left over on the dusty shelves of the fallen monolith was rejected by long queues of equally eager shoppers before this most recent lockdown, so it is unlikely the remnants are, how should we put it?, 'top end'. However, if one of your first post-lockdown invites is to a 1970s bin-end party you might find the perfect pair of flared jeans and non-matching orange sweater to celebrate the one in a million chance of a blood clot from the AstraZeneca vaccine you had to save your and your grandad's life.
Debenhams shoppers will 'enjoy' discounts of up to 70 per cent off fashion and home, and up to 50 per cent off beauty items, but much depends on:
1 Your definition of 'fashion', and
2 How much you care about what your clothing, home and beauty looks like
Stores will be open for between three and five weeks before they close for good, to be turned into flats and offices and surprise phoenixes rising from the ashes that we in the NTI newsroom still think will emerge in 'shock last minute deals'.
Debenhams really is beginning to look like the dinosaur lying twitching with a stake through its heart at the end of 'Jurassic Park Nine: Another Box-Office Disappointment'. It just refuses to die. Except that it will, in five to six weeks time.
