41 Comet stores out of the 236 stores the chain has in total will close by the end of November, Sky News reports.
The beleaguered chain was sold for just £2 last year, and went into administration this month. Earlier reports said all 6,500 jobs could be threatened, but administrator Deloitte has only announced 330 redundancies so far. No shop workers have lost their jobs yet, though as many as 500 front line staff could face the chop.
Another 14 Comet shops will start sales this week, joining the 27 that are already in action.
Most of the job cuts have been from the head office in Rickmansworth, a site in Hull, and a call centre in Clevedon, outside Bristol.
The shops that aren't closing will stay open over Christmas, with the 'fire sale' kicking off last week. Everything in store was reduced, though you can't buy anything online, so you'll have to tussle it out with other bargain hunters.
There was some confusion over whether gift cards would be accepted, with the administrator first banning them, then announcing it would accept them after all. Again, they're only usable in stores, not online.
The administrator said it was talking to potential buyers, and thanked the employees for their hard work. Chris Farrington, joint administrator, said: "We are very grateful to the company's employees for their professionalism, loyalty and support at this difficult time and all employees will of course continue to be paid for all the work they do while the company is in administration."
Since the sale started, Deloitte has reported record levels of trading. If you're after a bargain, take a look at the store locations page of the website to find your nearest Comet. Don't worry if you think you've missed out on the best deals, as a note on the website says new stock is arriving daily.
Have you picked up a bargain? Was it mayhem in the store, or relatively calm? Let me know in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.
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Comments 9
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anonymous 19 November, 2012 10:53
If they were in talks with other buyers why are they closing the stores?
There just stating this crap to the sales staff to keep them til the end.
Sad really as my partner works there, she gets treated like crap from the managers and the customers, maybe if comet thought about lowering prices like other competition they wouldn't be in this position.
JohnsonDion1 19 November, 2012 10:53
I went in to Comet to have a look and it was ok deals but there were problems. People were crowding around what they thought was the latest iPad because it was called the new iPad but in fact they were buying one a generation old. There were people looking a the apple macs but there were all old generation apple macs with nothing to special discounts, whats more a lot of the household items like bread makers are not on sale because comet dont own the demonstration models. I think its defiantly worth a look but it seems to me that they are cheating quite a few customers.
anonymous 19 November, 2012 12:50
Previous comment ^^ Just another example of the 'Typical' Apple Customer...
Early01 19 November, 2012 12:58
To be honest im glad they are closing as their customer service was absolutely terrible! I purchased a cooker from them last year and when it broke on the 23rd December they refused to help. They put my partner on hold for 2 hours only to hang up the phone on her. When I went into the Bedford store the manager smuggly referred us back to the comet help desk. After phoning Comet again and a two hour wait Comet advised that they would fix the comet in the new year. Luckily we contacted Michael R Peters in Bedford and they offered us a cooker to use over Xmas (even though they didn't sell us the faulty cooker). So I am happy Comet are closing exactly at the same time that they provided me such shabby service with little to no conscience.
HAPPY XMAS COMET :)
anonymous 19 November, 2012 15:56
well I doubt they would be in this situation closing down stores if 1) there prices where not so extortionate 2) they did not have so much staff getting paid for nothing FACT
anonymous 19 November, 2012 20:15
ref early01,this sounds like one of our typical customers ,who buys a item ,and after that ,wait on him hand and foot,and wipe his....,i hope crs realise u have lost a lot,and u wont get a better service ,in the future,elseware,it is easy to slag a big company off,it oftern makes u feel better.but when its gone it wont come back,u are left with the rest.BEST OF LUCK!!
anonymous 21 November, 2012 22:41
Poor service, over priced products sums up Comet. It's no surprise they are closing. Currys would have followed suit, but looks like they have got their act together in time to survive the economic downturn.
anonymous 22 November, 2012 18:05
No surprise Comet are closing down. Very poor customer service. Overpriced products and refusing to price match the same product which was at a cheaper price on John Lewis.
anonymous 22 November, 2012 20:33
Had an amazing deal on a 60" smart tv. £600 :)