Debenhams to create 500 jobs

The department store chain Debenhams has said it is to create 500 jobs by opening two new stores in Bradford and Londonderry.

The company also announced that its annual profits have risen by nearly 13% to £146m.

But it said that business suffered a downturn in the aftermath of the terror attacks.

"The recent volatility in sales makes it hard to know whether the downturn reflects a fall in consumer confidence," chief executive Belinda Earl said in a statement.

'Disappointing' sales

Debenhams said that during its last financial year sales in comparable stores had grown by 8%.

But in the seven weeks to October 20 sales had only risen by 3.4%, with a "disappointing" last couple of weeks.

Despite the slowdown, Ms Earl remained confident that Debenhams could ride out any problems.

"We are in a strong position with limited exposure to tourism and we are well spread geographically," she said.

"We are confident that our strategy is robust and flexible enough to allow us to outperform the market."

New stores

Debenhams said it would continue its expansion programme and announced plans to open two new stores in Bradford and Londonderry, which will create 500 jobs.

The current store building programme means Debenhams will have 106 stores in the UK by the end of 2006.

The company also announced that it would be opening a new store in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as part of its international franchise operations.

The company currently has seven international franchise stores, which should rise to 12 by the end of 2004.