By Pam McClounie

Last updated at 12:28, Saturday, 04 August 2012

A men's clothes shop that was under threat of closure is being rebranded.

The Officers Club in The Lanes, Carlisle, closed its doors on Sunday for alterations.

It will re-open as fashion retailer Blue Inc.

The Carlisle branch of the Officers Club, which slumped into administration in 2011, was bought by London retail outfit Blue Inc. It stepped in to buy 46 of the 102 stores nationally.

A spokesman for Blue Inc said: “We are delighted to be relaunching Officers Club in Carlisle.

“We are also pleased to be re-employing a large number of local staff.”

The news is a boost for traders in the city centre, where there have been a number of shop closures as retailers struggle

Officers Club fell into administration after a period of difficult trading and increasing raw material prices. The firm was hit badly by the squeeze on consumer spending brought about by stagnant wages and job insecurity.

The retailer, which employed 900 people, was said to be having trouble meeting its quarterly rent bill in March 2011 and appointed Grant Thornton as administrator.

Immediately after the administrator was appointed, Blue Inc bought 46 of its branches in a so-called ‘partial pre-pack’ deal, which allows the buyer to acquire part of a firm, but not its debts.

Blue Inc is thought to have paid about £5 million.

The remaining 56 Officers Club shops and its warehouse in Newcastle were shut down.

It was the second time the Officers Club had been in administration in two years.

The firm was launched in the 1990s.

First published at 10:49, Saturday, 04 August 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk