Gateshead-based Northern Electric Retail, which also owns Shop Electric in Northern Ireland, has careered into administration. More than 400 staff made redundant.
Directors at KPMG Corporate Recovery were appointed administrators last Friday and closed stores while a stock-take took place. On Tuesday, the decision was taken to make 402 staff redundant.
The shops remained shut as Retail Week went to press, although corporate recovery partner Richard Fleming said some stores would open next week 'to offer a sale of remaining stock'.
The retailer has a turnover of£80 million and operates 25 Northern Electric stores in the north of England, as well as 35 Shop Electric and Electric World stores in Northern Ireland. It also operates warranty business B2C Support Services, which it bought at the end of September.
Fleming said: 'Northern Electric and Shop Electric have suffered because the pre-Christmas upturn has failed to emerge. We continue to seek buyers for the stores as going concerns.'
Customers that have paid for but not yet received goods have been advised to contact credit card providers. A call centre has been set up to deal with enquiries.
Both the UK and Northern Ireland divisions were formerly operated by power companies before being hived off in the face of mounting competition.
The business faced difficulties earlier this year when it warned it was cutting staff pay.
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