Covid: Wales' questions over Boohoo's Debenhams takeover

Debenhams is a familiar sight on many high streets

For Wales, the news that Boohoo is buying Debenhams - but not its shops - raises harsh questions about where that will leave the heart of many of our towns and cities.

As far back at the 1970s, the retail heart of Swansea was built around a Debenhams - as was Friars Walk in Newport just over five years ago.

Bangor, Llandudno, Carmarthen and other towns too have fought hard to welcome Debenhams in the belief that it would attract shoppers to their area who would then spend needed cash amongst a host of local businesses.

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The talk amongst civic leaders has been, until recently, of Debenhams as an "anchor" business.

Debenhams has been struggling financially for some time and has gone into administration twice in the last two years.

Last summer its chairman sent a strongly worded letter to the Welsh Government claiming it was making it "economically unviable" to trade in some of its premises in Wales, because of the criteria for which businesses received rate relief.

Newport and Swansea councils illustrated just how important they see Debenhams to their high streets' future by deferring business rates until the end of March.

Debenhams will still sell online, but it will be Boohoo reaping the profits

But the challenge for Debenhams is much larger than just its rates bills - it is the latest big name, large brand to have been broken by the pandemic.

It is not that Debenhams did not have a strong online presence. It enjoyed 300 million visits to its website each year and its products will still be sold online, but Boohoo will reap the profits.

For towns and cities across Wales, jobs will be lost and the stores - magnets in the past - need to find another use, another owner.

The challenge for civic leaders will be to forge and enable a new future for them that will not just fill a gap, but enhance struggling high streets.

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