The gloom surrounding two high street chains that operate stores in the district appeared to intensify today – on a day when experts warned that next year could be the worst for jobs in two decades.
Childrenswear chain Adams, which has stores on Broadway, Bradford, and the Airedale Centre, Keighley, has applied to appoint administrators.
The 75-year-old company’s woes come hard on the heels of the collapse of music chain Zavvi, which has a store in Tyrrel Street, Bradford.
It has now emerged that people given Zavvi gift vouchers for Christmas will not be able to use them in stores.
A spokesman at Zavvi’s administrators Ernst and Young said: “It’s not possible for vouchers to be spent in stores.”
A message on the Zavvi website urged voucher holders, purchased after November 27, to write to the joint administrators.
It is “expected” people will receive a full refund.
People who bought vouchers before this date will have to register an unsecured claim, where there is a slimmer chance of a refund.
Some of Zavvi’s troubles began earlier this month with the collapse of its main supplier, Woolworths’ Entertainment UK wholesaling division, EUK.
Meanwhile, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has warned that next year could be the worst for jobs in two decades, with 600,000 workers facing redundancy and others having their pay frozen.
The institute said that when the recession ends, more than a million jobs could have been lost in the UK.
The institute, which represents managers and personnel staff, forecast unemployment will stop short of three million, but it warned the period between New Year and Easter will be the worst for redundancies since 1991.
Chief economist John Philpott said: “This time last year, in the face of some scepticism, the CIPD warned that 2008 would be the UK’s worst year for jobs in a decade. It was, but in retrospect it will be seen as merely the slow motion prelude to what will be the worst year for jobs in almost two decades.”
In response to the warning, the TUC urged the Government to plan its response next year and make sure the UK emerges from recession a fairer society.
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