Bonmarche sale means anxious wait for Yate employees (From Gazette Series)

Bonmarche sale means anxious wait for Yate employees

11:42am Tuesday 24th January 2012 in Yate and Sodbury news By Alexandra Womack

STAFF at a clothing store in Yate are waiting to find out if they still have a job this week, following the sale of fashion chain Bonmarche.

The business, part of the Peacocks Group which collapsed last week under its £750million debts, has been bought for an undisclosed sum by private equity group Sun European Partners.

Bonmarche has 400 stores, including one in Yate Shopping Centre which opened alongside a Peacocks shop within the former Woolworths store in August 2009. When the stores opened 15 staff were employed at Bonmarche and 16 were taken on at Peacocks.

Sun, which bought the entire Bonmarche chain apart from three stores, has said it will continue to run 230 stores but will close about 160 with job losses of 1,400 workers.

Details of the branches which are to be shut have not yet been released.

A spokesman for Sun said staff at the shops to be closed would be informed of the decisions 'over the next couple of days.'

Vice-president of US-based firm Sun, Matthias Gundlach, said: "Bonmarche is a great brand that operates in an attractive niche of the clothing sector that we know very well.

"Thanks to its strong range with a good value-for-money proposition and a unique in-store service experience, Bonmarche has a loyal customer base of regular repeat buyers."

Banks have withdrawn their funding of Peacocks and administrators are looking for a buyer for the chain. The Yate store is continuing to operate as normal.