Whittard to become UK's latest retail casualty

by Sanjay Jha | December 23, 2008 at 02:24 am

1730 views | 17 Recommendations | 12 comments

The owners of the famous Whittard of Chelsea chain of shops decided to close down its operation in the wake of economic recession. The chain which sells tea, coffee and crockery, are actively seeking a buyer.

Whittard has 130 stores in the UK and was founded by Walter Whittard in 1886. In a span of few weeks it will be second big chain to close down after Woolworth filed for administration.

Media reports have also speculated about the future of entertainment chain Zavvi, whose supply chain has been severely damaged by the collapse of Entertainment UK.

The grim news came as Whittard of Chelsea, the upmarket tea chain, stood on the brink of administration last night. The 122-year-old chain, which is backed by Landsbanki, the collapsed Icelandic bank, called in Ernst & Young as standby administrator after Landsbanki cut its funding lines, it is understood.

Desperate retailers are trusting that poor trading will be offset by the two extra shopping days they have before Christmas Day this year.

Many are beginning their January sales early, with B&Q and Homebase, the DIY chains, starting on Christmas Eve. John Lewis, the department store group, begins its sale online at 6pm on Christmas Eve, and Marks & Spencer, which has already mounted two “one-day spectaculars”, starts its online sell-off at one minute past midnight on Christmas Day.

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islandrepublic

at 08:23 on December 23rd, 2008

islandrepublic has contributed a photo to this story.

soulofphoenix

at 09:36 on December 23rd, 2008

one of the most colored corner in my holiday in London last Christmas!!!

soulofphoenix has contributed a photo to this story.

edvmusni

at 11:51 on December 23rd, 2008

Amazing colors

edvmusni has contributed a photo to this story.

immutability

at 12:31 on December 23rd, 2008

So sad to read this story :(

immutability has contributed a photo to this story.

Amy Judd

at 12:54 on December 23rd, 2008

I love Whittard's Dream Tea - I can't believe they are closing... this is sad.

A88

at 13:34 on December 23rd, 2008

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7796751.stm

Looks like it might work out okay after all...and I'll be able continue to photograph coffee beans

ringhio

at 13:59 on December 23rd, 2008

I hope that Whittard never close...Every time I'm in UK I buy tea from them!

ringhio has contributed a photo to this story.

Tinaturquoise

at 00:58 on December 24th, 2008

This is the most delicious tea i've ever drunk!!

Tinaturquoise has contributed a photo to this story.

♥angelGIÖ♥

at 02:00 on December 24th, 2008

Whittard cup for my sweet day

♥angelGIÖ♥ has contributed a photo to this story.

azzayindia

at 03:56 on December 24th, 2008

time to hook on to Indian tea

A. Tran

at 20:48 on January 3rd, 2009

That is unfortunate, I love their teas.

It seems NYC is also suffering from economic woes as I've been seeing the closing of favorite bakery and pastry shops, and some independent bookstores.

hyp0th3rmi4

at 07:06 on January 10th, 2009

The first time I run into Whittard was June 2006 in Cambridge. I was simply amazed by the different flavors of tea that i found there. Needless to say, I came out of the shop with my backpack full of all the stupendous flavors. This photo has been taken in June 2008 when I came back to Cambridge and got another bag full of tea...

Christian Vecchiola

hyp0th3rmi4 has contributed a photo to this story.