UK: Allders Buys Four C&A Stores

Allders department stores is expanding its portfolio after buying four former C&A stores in top retail locations. The department store group has bought stores in Guildford, Kingston, York and Leicester, three of which will be Allders at Home and the fourth a new department store. C&A announced in June that it was shutting all its British and Irish shops after more than 75 years in business in the UK. The department store, at Leicester, Humberstone Gate, will open in May next year. The four stores add an overall selling space of about 117,000 sq ft. The Allders at Home stores, to be located in Guildford, Friary Centre, Kingston, Eden Street and York, Coppergate, will open in March. A spokesman for Allders said all four new stores are ranked in the top 25 major retail centre destinations in the country. He said: "We have had a good year taking into account the current retail climate and are delighted to be adding these four locations to our list."