Sergio Bucher, who took over as chief executive last October, outlined an overhaul that will see the group shut one of its three distribution centres run by DHL, 10 smaller in-house warehouses and potentially axe up to 10 of its 176 stores over the next five years, reports The Telegraph.
The DHL warehouse employs 220 staff and will shut in two years’ time, but Debenhams hopes to be able to redeploy many staff affected by the smaller warehouse closures.
Details of his plans came as the group announced a 6.4 per cent drop in pre-tax profits to £87.8m for the six months to March 4.
Debenhams’ shares dropped 3 per cent on opening.
