A chain of convenience stores in the United Kingdom is believed to be on the verge of shuttering, which could cost up to 1,700 jobs.
The My Local chain, which has 120 locations, has decided to declare its intentions to appoint administrators, a key step on the road to becoming insolvent. Its notice of intention protects it from creditors for up to 10 days during the insolvency process.
My Local was sold late last year by Morrisons, one of the UK’s largest supermarket chains, to a group led by Milo Greene, a British TV star and retail veteran.
The original deal involved 140 stores for £25 million; it is believed that 25 of the locations have already been closed or resold. 600 jobs have already been lost in this restructuring and downsizing.
The leading auditing firm KPMG is managing the potential outcomes for the business, which could include the additional sale of some locations to another firm.
It is largely believed that the failure of My Local can be attributed to poor store placement; many stores were simply placed in former locations of the defunct video rental chain Blockbuster.
The rise of discount supermarkets, such as Aldi and Lidl, is also thought to play a role.
Convenience stores, after increasing by 21 percent in number from 2010 to 2015, have been shown to have decreased in popularity in the past few months.
My Local is one of many chains undergoing financial problems in the UK.
