Johnsons to shut 100 stores as sales dive

A total of 100 Johnsons dry cleaning shops will close across the country, the firm announced today as it revealed sales had plummeted.

Parent firm Johnson Service said the move comes after a review of its dry cleaning operation.

Sales from its 460 dry cleaning shops were down 0.5 per cent in the first six months of the year, while the doomed shops experienced falls of 2.7 per cent.

The closures will take place by the end of the year and there will also be cuts in back office and field teams.

Johnson has shops in the West Midlands in Stafford, Lichfield, Amblecote, Kiderminster, Tettenhall, Smethwick, and Walsall.

There is also one within the Waitrose store in Wolverhampton.

It has not yet been made public where the cuts will fall.

Executive chairman John Talbot said today: "We believe that the measures we have taken will refocus the group into a more streamlined and profitable business.

"We have confidence that our continuing dry cleaning estate will not only be able to withstand the current retail environment but make a telling contribution to the group's future performance," he added.