Alarm bells ring as store staff told of redundancies

The future of the store, in Hexham, Northumberland, which has been trading since 1819, and its sister store Joplings in Sunderland, has been in doubt since parent company Owen Owen went into administration in March.

Both stores have been traded as going concerns for the past six weeks while administrator Kroll searched for a buyer.

While The Northern Echo can reveal that talks are ongoing with a potential buyer to save Joplings - potentially saving 180 jobs - the closure of Robbs has been confirmed.

Employees have revealed how the fire alarm was set off deliberately so staff would congregate in the store's car park. They were then read a statement telling them they would be made redundant next Saturday, on what will be Robbs' final day of trading.

Peter Atkinson, MP for Hexham, condemned the way management broke the news to their staff, saying: ''I gather the alarm was set off to gather staff in one place, but it is a brutal end to a long history.

"It came as a complete shock to everyone."

Although Robbs' fate has been sealed, a potential buyer has been lined up for Joplings, which has traded in Sunderland for 200 years.

Administrator Kroll said last night that negotiations were ongoing to secure a deal - but if agreement is not reached by Saturday, Jopling's will also be forced to close.

A spokesman said: "Contract negotiations are progressing with one interested party, and the administrators are hopeful of securing a sale.

"However, if a deal is not reached by May 12, that store too will be forced to close."

Liverpool-based parent company Owen Owen, which bought the two stores for a cut-price £8m in 2005, hit financial trouble in March, blaming the situation on "cashflow difficulties".

While both Robbs and Joplings have reported healthy trading, Owen Owen made an operating loss of more than £1.7m in the year to January 31.