Almost 180 staff at troubled music retailer Zavvi lost their jobs today after administrators closed 22 stores.
None of the retailer’s 11 former Virgin Megastore chain outlets in the Republic are included in the closures. The group employs 201 permanent staff here.
There were no exact figures for job losses among temporary staff, but these have already left the stores after their contracts ran out on January 3rd.
Tom Jack of Ernst & Young, one of the joint administrators, said more than 60 expressions of interest had been recovered.
"We intend to continue to trade the remaining Zavvi portfolio with a view to selling all or part of the Zavvi business as a going concern."
He said despite "record consumer demand" since Christmas it was no longer possible to support trading across in all Zavvi stores.
Zavvi fell into administration on Christmas Eve after it was crippled by the collapse of Woolworths' Entertainment UK wholesaling division.
EUK was the company's main supplier and its demise left Zavvi unable to take customer orders. Zavvi's remaining outlets are now expected to cut the price of their products by a further 20 per cent to 50 per cent from tomorrow.
Stores set to close include the Liverpool Clayton Square branch, which employs 28 people, Chatham, which has 13 staff, and the Sterling Mills shopping centre in Clackmannanshire, where there are 10 employees.