Debenhams to cut one quarter of all store management roles

Department store Debenhams plans to cut 320 store management roles (representing about one in four store managers) as part of its £10m cost-saving programme revealed last month.

The retailer said it would seek to redeploy as many staff as possible and those staff affected are not customer-facing. It said it wants to direct its focus to shopfloor staff to improve customer service.

“As we continue to deliver the Debenhams Redesigned strategy, we are reviewing our retail structure. The review looks to identify how we can reduce cost and complexity in store processes so that we can focus our resources on serving customers better.

“We are currently consulting with individuals affected and will seek redeployment opportunities where possible. We envisage our new structure being fully in place by the end of March," Debenhams said in a statement.

It is one of a number of retailers who have laid out plans to cut staff and remove layers of management as the UK consumer environment remains volatile. Supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda have all revealed plans to cut staff while rival department store Marks & Spencer is in the midst of a restructure that will result in a number of store closures - though M&S is also seeking to redeploy staff where possible. House of Fraser too had a tough Christmas.

The announcement from Debenhams comes on the back of a disappointing trading update and profit warning issued last month. In the 17 weeks to 30 December, group like-for-like sales in constant currency declined -1.8%, with UK like-for-likes down -2.6% while international sales were up 2.1%. CEO Sergio Bucher said the market had been "challenging and particularly promotional".