Administrators for Photo-Optix Ltd have laid off most of the high street chain’s 70 staff and permanently closed 10 of its 12 stores, as the remaining two fight for survival.
Amateur Photographer (AP) has learnt that there is a chance two of the London stores ? in Westminster and Chelsea ? will be saved following interest expressed by potential buyers.
The 10 other stores have closed ?permanently?, after no interest emerged from any potential buyer, according to Joanne Milner from accountants Smith & Williamson, the appointed administrators.
Asked what went wrong with the business, Milner attributed it to a ?general slowdown in trade margins etc?. She added: ?The business isn?t out there on the high street that there used to be.?
Milner said it was too early to give a detailed analysis of the photographic chain’s demise.
The news comes a week after the 50-year-old firm suspended trading.
The shops listed for permanent closure are located in Ealing, Glasgow (where there are two), Bracknell, Dorking, Guildford, Redhill, Windsor and Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex. Photo Optix also operates a store at Birmingham airport.
Milner told AP that it would be up to the potential new owners of the Chelsea and Westminster stores as to whether they decide to retain the Photo Optix name.
An exact figure for the number of staff made redundant had yet to be confirmed by the administrators at the time of writing.
Picture: The Photo Optix shop on King’s Road, Chelsea, is one of two stores that may be saved by a potential buyer, say administrators. Like all other shops in the chain it was still closed for business on Saturday afternoon
Photo credit: Chris Cheesman
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