A QUESTION mark hangs over the future of another well-known Kidderminster town centre shop after a nationwide takeover of the chainstore.

Fears that the Kidderminster branch of Etam may close come less than a week after it was announced that the axe would fall on the town's Index store.

It also follows the closure - less than two weeks ago - of the Somerfield supermarket and the decision by flagship store, Waitrose, to quit the town in July.

The Etam store, which is situated on the corner of Kidderminster High Street, employs 13 staff in the town and is under review after being taken over by the Arcadia Group, owned by fashion tycoon, Philip Green, around two weeks ago.

Etam press officer, Vicki Snow, told the Shuttle/Times & News it was "possible the shop could close in Kidderminster" but directed further enquiries to Arcadia.

"Basically, what we've been told is even if some of the stores shut down, then store staff will keep their jobs because they'll be sold on as retail spaces," she added.

Arcadia spokeswoman, Tanya Foster-Brown, said some Etam stores had been sold to fashion companies, Monsoon and Tom Hunter, which trades under the shoe brands, Office and Kube, and clothes store USC - but Kidderminster was not one of them.

"Kidderminster hasn't been sold to anyone yet so, at the moment, that's one of the stores under review," she said. "They're looking at retaining Tammy, retaining Etam and lots of other options."

She added of the possibility of it being sold: "I'm sure if it's a retail outlet it will continue trading and the plan at the moment is that even if the store goes to a different fascia, the staff will be reallocated to a new fascia."

Wyre Forest District Council cabinet member for economic development, councillor James Dudley, said he did not know what was happening with Etam because the matter had not been brought to his attention.

"The story at the moment is that people want to move into Kidderminster," he said.

"Netto bought Somerfield and gave them a really good price for the land and I'm not sure what's happening with Waitrose yet but it's attracting a lot of interest."

He added: "As far as Etam goes then, if it's internal restructuring, that's a fact of life.

"Retail chains are a competitive environment. They buy and sell each other and it's all part of the way the market works.

"I would be very concerned if the store would be empty and if people were losing their jobs but that isn't the case."

He added the council would be carrying out a major study of the town's retail economy later in the year to decide how much more retail capacity would be viable in the town.

l Retail union, Usdaw, has welcomed a firm commitment from shopping giant, Littlewoods, to re-deploy Index staff after the shock announcement that the catalogue chain was to close.

The company has vowed to find as many alternative positions within the rest of the Littlewoods empire as possible and Usdaw has set up a taskforce to support Index workers throughout the country, including the 13 employed at the Kidderminster branch.