After hours of administration, Tesco acquired the name and intellectual property of the High Street stationery business Paperchase.
However, the grocer has not bought the chain’s 106 stores in the UK and Ireland, casting doubt on the future of 820 employees. Begbies Traynor, the administrator of Paperchase, announced the layoffs of 75 employees at the company’s head office.
With two weeks to use gift cards, all stores will remain open for the time being. The stationer’s products will now be sold by Tesco in its stores all around the UK.
It comes after a difficult couple of years for Paperchase, which has recently been impacted by rising costs and declining sales. The company also operates stores in train stations, although these locations have seen less foot traffic as more people work from home.
Jan Marchant, Home, and Clothing Director at Tesco, said:
“Paperchase is such a popular brand and we are proud to bring them to Tesco stores across the UK. “We have plans to bring more branding and inspiration to our current offerings, and this will help drive those plans even further.”
A few weeks ago, Paperchase put itself up for sale and said several buyers were interested in the deal.
But early Tuesday, it appointed a manager following a “no viable offer” for the company or its assets.
Founded in 1968, Paperchase went out of business four years ago to cut costs by downsizing its branches.
It was then acquired during the pandemic in 2021, with a relief deal that resulted in the loss of about 500 jobs. But Paperchase was sold last August to a private investment firm led by private investor Steve Curtis.
Tesco layoffs
In a separate announcement on Tuesday, Tesco said it aims to serve more than 2,000 people in its stores as it announced further changes to how it operates its business.
The grocery store plans to eliminate his manager position from his 1,750 team at hundreds of large stores and introduce a new tier of shifts in his manager role to oversee production operations.
Salaries for the 1,800 new positions will be reduced, but team managers who take the jobs will be given two years of salary protection.
Tesco will also close eight pharmacies, shift night shifts to daytime hours at 12 stores, reduce working hours at some post offices, and close back-office positions, so he will cut 350 more people. We plan to reduce it.
The grocery store is also closing all remaining counters and hot delicatessens due to lack of demand, but all affected employees will be offered alternative roles.
