Lombok in trouble as stores close

Furniture chain Lombok followed the UK arm of Habitat into administration yesterday with the closure of nine stores south of the Border.

Management and investors at Angora, the private owner of Lombok, have immediately bought the retailer out of pre-pack administration in a move which will see three stores and one concession remain open.

Stores in Bluewater, Brighton, Chiswick, Guildford, Hampstead, Kingston, Leamington Spa, Wimbledon and Kings Road in London, all closed before administrators Leonard Curtis were appointed.

Outlets in Tottenham Court Road in London, Batley, West Yorkshire, a clearance store in Fulham and its Oxford Street House of Fraser concession all remain open as well as its website.

A spokeswoman for Lombok said a consultation on job losses was under way but could not confirm the number of redundancies expected to be made.

The chain is the latest victim of the consumer downturn, brought on by a toxic combination of high inflation, low wage growth and fears over government austerity measures.

Lombok, named after the Indonesian island, was founded by Alex Cresswell-Turner to develop a range of Eastern-inspired furniture in the UK. The stores sell bedroom, dining room, lounge and office furniture.

A spokeswoman said: "In order to secure the future of Lombok in very challenging trading conditions, Lombok is in the final stages of an essential restructuring, refocusing the company on its successful online offering and key flagship stores."