A major high street chain has said it will close its websites this week after going into administration. Paperchase announced last month it had appointed administrators after failing to secure a rescue sale.
While Tesco then stepped in to buy the brand it is expected to sell products inside its own stores. It means the stationery chain, which has more than 100 branches, is likely to close all of its own shops putting 1,000 jobs under threat.
Now it has posted on its website that it will stop trading via the online store at the end of this week. People will have until midnight on Friday to buy before it closes.
Under the headline Paperchase.com is closing it wrote: "It is with a heavy heart that we inform you that the Paperchase.com online store will cease trading on Friday 17th February 2023 at midnight. We want to take a moment to thank you for your support and loyalty over the years.
"In the meantime, you can still shop online and get at least 30% off everything today. You can still shop in stores with new stock arriving in store weekly, and with everything up to half price. When it's gone it's gone."
At present there is no confirmed closing date for the high street shops. However people with gift cards will no longer be able to use them as they expired at midnight - along with any rewards on loyalty cards.
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Administrators from Begbies Traynor said previously that they would keep the shops open for a short time, and that staff would stay in their jobs in the meantime. They said nothing about what would happen to their jobs in the long term.
The administrators said that they had made 75 workers at the London head office redundant. The closures come after the firm failed to secure a buyer after being placed on the market by retail veteran owner Steve Curtis.
