Clothing chain George Malta has announced it will be closing its Pavi, Qormi, outlet by the end of January 2021.

While no reason was provided, the retail industry, in general, has been heavily impacted by the pandemic. Internationally, major retail chains like Debenham’s have filed for bankruptcy, while Topshop’s owners, Arcadia, have also entered liquidation.

George Malta made the announcement via social media on Friday morning, where it also informed customers of its returns and exchange policy for the coming weeks:

‘We would like to thank all our Pavi, Qormi customers for their loyal custom,’ it declared.

George Malta opened its first store on the island in 2013 and currently operates four branches, including the Pavi, Qormi store.

The clothing brand, owned by UK supermarket chain ASDA, also operates at Daniel’s Shopping Complex, Hamrun, Main Street Shopping Complex, Paola, and The Duke Shopping Mall, Gozo.

George Malta has not officially announced the closure of its other three outlets, however, social media postings have been made periodically to say that disruptions to opening times of the other outlets are taking place so that the company can carry out stock counts.

Anecdotally, members of the public say stock has been cleared out of the Hamrun and Gozo outlets, which leads them to believe that closure is imminent.