Jobs go as fashion chain Blue Inc shuts its Shropshire stores

The brand, whose clothes are aimed at under-25s, warned earlier this month that it could close dozens of stores and axe hundreds of jobs as part of a restructuring of the business.

Yesterday, it shut the doors of 65 of its 230 stores, including at The Darwin Shopping Centre in Shrewsbury, and Telford Shopping Centre.

The exact number of people employed in each branch has not been revealed, but 560 jobs have been lost across the group as part of the closures.

A spokesman for the company said that the move was part of a bid to capitalise on a growing online audience, rather than a consequence of a difficult Christmas period.

"This is a corporate restructure that Blue Inc have been wanting to undertake for some time," she said.

"The company actually had a reasonable Christmas, it certainly wasn't a car crash on the high street. The warm weather didn't help, but there has been a huge shift to shopping online.

"That has grown by 50 per cent in the last year, and Blue Inc has to realign its portfolio depending on where the consumer is.

"It's very sad and we are sensitive to the fact that people have lost their jobs, but it's a case of natural attrition given where the demand lies."

Blue Inc continues to trade as normal, and has placed the affected stores into a subsidiary company, A Levy, and has issued a notice that it is to place that subsidiary into administration, allowing the company to focus on more profitable outlets.

The closures mean the company has withdrawn from Shropshire entirely, with nearby branches now being found at Merry Hill Shopping Centre and in Stoke.

Four years ago Blue Inc made the acquisitions of other high street brands The Officers Club and D2, and a substantial proportion of the shops earmarked for closure are thought to be former Officers Club sites.

The spokesman added: "Some worked and some didn't. Blue Inc overextended with its store portfolio."