'Allders owes us tens of thousands', say mother and daughter business duo
A SMALL business in Allders says it is owed tens of thousands of pounds by the department store.
Monique Rebeiro, who runs Hatz with her mother Margaret Chatelier, claims her business is owed about £20,000 in concessions payments.
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Monique Rebeiro and Margaret Chatelier
She says she has been struggling to get money from the historic department store since January, sporadically being paid in different amounts.
And with about £10,000 still owed to suppliers, Hatz is left facing an uncertain future.
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It moved into the crisis-hit store seven years ago and sells bespoke hats.
And with Royal Ascot this week - where it normally makes more money, it has taken a hit in the pocket.
Mrs Rebeiro, 45, said: "The other day we turned away £1,500 worth of business because we didn't have the fabrics to produce what we normally could.
"The suppliers won't give us any more because they've been waiting three months (for payment)."
Mrs Rebeiro said she had been aware something was wrong, having struggled to get a straight answer from the finance department about lack of payment.
She added: "They gave us small bits of money, but not as much as we needed.
"I spoke to the head of finance and he kept saying he was doing all he could."
If Allders is forced to close its doors for good, Mrs Rebeiro says she hopes the council will support the concessions.
Comments
by DianaFrance
Monday, June 25 2012, 12:46PM
“This is just the sort of business we need to encourage in Croydon's shopping malls, but the charges are so high that only the big brands can afford to be here. If the Whitgift is remodelled to include a number of small units, the concessions could trade there rather than within a department store. I'm thinking of small shops I've seen elsewhere like an independent goldsmith, a coin and stamp collectors' shop, a dolls' house shop, a cigar shop, a kite shop - anything catering for a specialist market whose customers will travel some distance and which isn't dependant upon a very high footfall.
Department stores have had their day, the internet enables us to buy most things without leaving home, but some things need to be seen and discussed, that is the future of shopping centres.”