Woolworths and MFI go underWoolworths and MFI in administration

27 November 2008

Ailing retailers Woolworths and MFI have gone into administration, it has been confirmed.

The administrators appointed to handle the Woolworths collapse, Deloitte, said the retailer's 813 stores will be open during Christmas, and staff will be paid during this time. It added that it is searching for a buyer for the business, with 'a number of parties' interested.

MFI will close 26 of its branches, confirms its administrators MCR. But current customer orders will either be fulfilled or refunded, with enquiries to go through the furniture chain's call centres and not its stores.

MFI and Woolworths victims of high street crisis

Both retailers were poor performers in the Which? high street retailer survey published in February 2008. 

The collapses mean that 30,000 Woolworths staff face uncertainty after Christmas. The jobs of MFI's 1,000 employees also hang in the balance.

Woolworths opened its first store in Liverpool in 1909, but has suffered a number of cash flow problems, said its administrators. MFI, founded in 1964 as a mail order business, is said to have been hit by a lack of demand for big ticket goods after dips in the property market. 

For advice on what to do if you have been affected as a customer of one of the stores, see our guide on what to do if a company goes bust.

The customer service number for MFI is 0870 607 5054.

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