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Mothercare continues growth adding 400 new jobs

Mothercare continues its strong growth with the announcement of eight new store openings before Christmas, creating 400 new jobs.

International child care and parenting center Mothercare has announced plans to open 12 new “landmark” stores in thriving shopping centers and create 400 new jobs, buoyed by an 11 percent rise in profits.

While many retailers have struggled to stay afloat, Mothercare saw a 40 percent increase in sales in April and increased overall sales this year.

Ben Gordon, Mothercare’s chief executive, told the BBC: “This has been another strong half for the Mothercare group. International has delivered a record first half with retail sales up 29.6 percent and store openings ahead of plan.”

Mothercare expects eight new parenting centers to open by Christmas. Those stores are located in Colliers Wood, King’s Lynn, Kirkcaldy, Lewisham, Newton Abbey, Poole, Stoke, and Yeovil.

They also expect 25 new centers to open by the end of 2011, claiming that the commercial property market currently has offered attractive terms on leases, especially in profitable locations that were previously unavailable.

However, the company also warned that as part of its restructuring plans, 90 underperforming stores with leases set to expire in the next few years will be targeted for changes. Mothercare indicated that it would either try to relocate the stores to popular out-of-town destinations or restructure leases before considering store closures.

Mothercare acquired chain Early Learning Centre, a chain of baby stores, for 85 million pounds in June 2007. Since then, the company has been restructuring its assets to increase profitability.

Mothercare shares rose 1.2 percent, up 7.5 pence to 633.5 pence.

         

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