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A famous British shoe chain has closed all of its 33 remaining high street stores for good, with its administrators revealing the "majority" of jobs have been lost.

Russell & Bromley was acquired after collapsing into administration earlier this year. Investors Interpath told Drapers the phased closure of the retailer's remaining specialist stores is "now complete". The last of the store closures are believed to have taken place last week on April 23, following report of the first 10 shutdowns on April 21. Before the closures, Russell & Bromley employed 320 staff across its stores, though Interpath has not yet confirmed how many employees left the business ahead of being made redundant.

The joint administrators said in a statement to Drapers: "All stores that did not transfer to Next as part of that transaction closed on or before 23 April 2026. Regrettably, these closures mean that the majority of employees working in the nontransferring stores have been made redundant.

"The administrators and their teams are engaging closely with all affected staff and will be providing support throughout the process, including assisting individuals in submitting claims to the redundancy payments service. The administrators continue to oversee the winddown of the remaining parts of the business and will provide further updates as appropriate."

Next's acquisition of Russell & Bromley in a £2.5 million prepack administration deal in January set the stage for the brand's recent wave of store closures.

Under the agreement, Next takes ownership of the Russell & Bromley name and all associated intellectual property, along with three remaining stores in Chelsea, Mayfair, and the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent.

Before the pandemic, the footwear retailer operated 36 UK stores, but it struggled significantly during COVID19 as demand weakened. Those financial pressures left the nearly 150yearold brand unprofitable from 2020 onward, ultimately leading to the closures now taking place.

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