Westgate department store in Stockport town centre is to close with the loss of 77 jobs.
Staff have been told that parent company Anglia Co-operative have agreed to the sale of the Chestergate store to Primark with the store due to shut early next year .
Completion of the sale is expected by early January 2011 resulting in the closure of the store and potential redundancy for the 28 full-time and 49 part-time staff.
Anglia Co-operative , which acquired the store in 2005, said despite five years of good trading, it had not performed sufficiently to support the capital expenditure required to maintain the large building in its current format.
Chief executive John Chillcott paid tribute to his staff and reassured customers the store would continue trading as usual until the closure in the new year.
He said: "Regretfully the store will close its doors early in the new year to make way for a comprehensive redevelopment by Primark.
"The staff have worked with enthusiasm, dedication and commitment to the business and I extend my sincere thanks to them for their contribution over the past 5 years and shall endeavour to do what I can to accommodate them in our other stores or help smooth the way to alternative employment locally in Stockport.
"I would also like to thank regular Westgate customers and assure them that it will be 'business as usual' for the remainder of the year and through Christmas before the closure early in the New Year.
" I'd also like to assure customers that furniture and electrical orders placed right up to the closure date will be delivered and customer service post store closure will be available as usual from our national customer services team in Peterborough."
"I'd like to thank those customers that have joined and become members of Anglia Co-operative and confirm that their purchases remain eligible for dividend and that I shall write to them in due course about their membership.
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I just want to send my best wishes to the staff of westgate store in stockport, It happened to me with woolworths and i can understand what the staff are going through. I also would like to thank the girls in the cafe they are all so good at there jobs and will be missed,The cafe is a meeting place for alot of people who enjoy meeting up and treating them selfs to a tea or coffee its a shame that the cafe has to close at all anyway good luck to the staff and i hope you all find another job from linda salt
primark in wetgate
big riverisland at woolworths
TDF/Jane norman in the old riverisland store
H&M in the old borders building.
stockport is becoming a city finally!
Fantastic news - Primark, H&M and TDF - brilliant !
Sad news for all those that work there, lets hope at least some of them can be re-employed by Primark or at the new Sky centre thats opened in Stockport.
I'll miss Westgate but have got to say I'm looking forward to Primark opening!
who actually shops in westgate though.
overpriced furniture, over priced electricals, make up and perfume which boots stocks, a small number of kids toys available at toys r us, TDF (if this goes its no big loss - buts its being moved to riverisland anyway), co-op travel, there are two in stockport anyway...
what else? bedding perhaps? go to dunelm mill..
there is no call for westgate in stockport.
its rubbish people are losign their jobs but hey so did i last year
This has been rumoured for nearly a year now, so I guess it had come as no surprise to the staff, but still not a nice thing to happen as it has with me several times!
Glad to hear Primarni is finally coming to stockport, will go down a treat with a large section of the community, even I have been known to make a purchase in one of their stores.
All we need now is for SMBC to finally accept that they need to abolish town centre parking for shoppers and we may see a return to the packed out car parks & bustling stores of the 80's.
Brilliant that is but a sad day for all the staff concerned at westgate, hopefully there will job opportunites when primark comes to Stockport.
Don't forget Yeoman's on Underbank is closing also, another good Outdoor Activity store gone. I have shopped there a number of times and have always had a good service. Seems strange that stores like this can't survive but on Underbank there are two shops that sell items that help you grow cannabis and both are still operating. Doesn't say much for Stockport does it.
I suppose the under age production workers( children) that Primark purchase from in India will be looking forward to the overtime they might get from the increase in outlet stores!
Stockport won't be the same until Argos is back on top of the hill over looking chestergate
Primark!!!!!!!! AT LAST!
In reply to Medieval Knight, Reedy Ditch's comment / question of " who actually shops in Westgate though", I would respectfully suggest that its anyone who recognises and appreciates quality goods and is prepared to pay a little extra for them, an attitude that seemingly doesnt apply to a few of the contributors to the comment forum judging by the enthusiastic approval an establishment such as Primark is receiving.
Chestergate already has a pub, Farmfoods, some health project encouraging people to lose weight, a nails salon, pound shop, post office etc. and is conveniently situated just down the Dole Office. If SMBC can persuade Cash Converters to relocate to the street they could designate it as the "Chav Quarter".
ahhh the eighties
mark slater,
you comment on the cannabis shops but not the two adult stores?
i assume you shop in these places for you not to comment on them!!
John North,
Everything in westgate is available in other stores in stockport town centre.
Make up/perfume - boots
Electricals - comet
Beds/bedding - debenhams
etc
Yay Primark! Finally a reason to visit Stockport...oh and visit my mother....ha
WHAT A CRYING SHAME!!! NOWHERE LEFT TO SHOP FOR EVERYTHING FOR THE HOME. PRIMARK GRRRRRRR........
Primark has a policy of shredding damaged and unwanted clothing rather than donating it to charity
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11284968