Highland shopping centre anchor store set to shut as Debenhams moves online By Calum MacLeod
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Updated: 09:48, 25 January 2021
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Eastgate anchor store Debenhams is set to close as the chain becomes an online only retailer.
The Inverness branch of Debenhams, the anchor store at the city s Eastgate shopping centre, is to permanently close after online retailer Boohoo paid £55 million for the brand.
The Boohoo deal does not include any of Debenhams stores, stock or financial services and means one of the longest established names in UK retail will now continue as an online presence.
Boohoo buys Debenhams but all stores will close. (PA) Online fashion retailer Boohoo has bought the Debenhams brand and website for £55 million in a deal that will see the brand operate as an online-only retailer from next year. Bosses confirmed the deal will not include stores as part of the structured winding down of the business. Debenhams were hit by a fall in sales amid the coronavirus pandemic and confirmed plans for the winding down of operations in December after rescue talks with JD Sports fell through. But with stores closing across the 242-year-old brand, it is unlikely many of the remaining 12,000 jobs will be saved.