a new debenhams department store is seen in a shopping centre in watford britain september 24 2018 reuterspeter nichollsfile photo by paul sandle london struggling british department store chain debenhams is closing up to 50 of its underperforming stores putting about 4000 jobs at risk after it reported a record fullyear loss of nearly 500 million pounds 645 million chief executive sergio bucher said he was taking decisive steps to strengthen debenhams in a tough retail market we are taking tough decisions on stores where financial performance is likely to deteriorate over time he said advt bucher a former amazon executive is trying to keep debenhams relevant to british shoppers who are increasingly buying online and spending less on clothes the cuts are deeper than buchers original plan to close 10 of the chains 166 uk stores downsize others and renegotiate leases and rents on its estate the shops which have not been named will close in the next three to five years we want to have fewer but better stores with a better shopping experience he told bbc radio on thursday we want to grow our online business and we want the whole of the organisation to be more profitable debenhams shares down 80 percent in the past year touched a new low of 8 pence valuing the companys equity at about 100 million pounds before gaining 11 percent by midafternoon royal bank of canada said debenhams was in survival mode but the more aggressive store closures should be well received however for debenhams to offer an attractive longterm equity story we also need to see some prospect of an improvement in underlying trading and department store trading conditions remain very challenging the banks analysts said debenhams which has issued three profit warnings this year wrote off 5124 million pounds on leases and goodwill leading to a loss of 4915 million pounds the biggest in its 240year history advt stripping out exceptionals adjusted pretax profit for the year to sept 1 was 332 million pounds down 65 percent which bucher said reflected a tough year for retail department store pain debenhams which attracted 19 million shoppers last year is not the only retailer that has suffered on the high street in britain and beyond bhs went bust in 2016 house of fraser was bought out of administration in august by mike ashleys sports direct which owns 30 percent of debenhams market leader john lewis has also warned on profit in the united states sears a retailer that once dominated shopping malls filed for bankruptcy this month bucher is trying to make debenhams stores more attractive to shoppers with product and store improvements such as enhancing its beauty and food offers but the consumer environment is not helping him shoppers budgets have been squeezed and the money they are spending is increasingly going towards holidays entertainment and online offers debenhams likeforlike sales fell 23 percent reflecting weak demand for fashion and makeup both core segments for the retailer the clothing