MORE than 40 employees of the Franklins Supermarket in Bowral face an uncertain future as the store prepares to close.

The Springett Arcade store was due to shut its doors for the final time tomorrow but staff have now been advised that Franklins will cease trading on February 10.

Stung by huge operating losses, Franklins owner, the Hong Kong-based Dairy Farm International, has been forced to sell off hundreds of its supermarkets to independent retailers.

The Bowral store is one of less than 20 Franklins stores unsold as part of that huge melt-down process in which numerous Franklins stores across the country have changed hands.

The store was due to have been sold to Pick ‘n’ Pay but those negotiations broke down before Christmas, placing the staff in limbo.

Franklins employs a mix of full-time, part-time and casual staff in Bowral and recently maintained that all employees have been kept informed by management regarding any ongoing negotiations which will affect their future employment.

But one member of staff the Southern Highland News spoke to, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of losing any entitlements, claimed the Bowral staff had been given the barest of details.

“All we were told was that the store was closing at the end of the month, now we have just been advised that we will continue trading until February 10.

“To be honest, we’re not sure where we stand and all the staff are facing an uncertain future.

“We don’t know what the situation is regards to entitlements and we’ve also now missed the deadline to apply for jobs with Bi-Lo.

“We’re still fairly busy in the store as we have started our 10 per cent sale and people are rushing in to snap up last-minute bargains”.

Franklins did control about 12 per cent of dry grocery trade, compared with Woolworths’ estimated 37 per cent and Coles Myer’s 33 per cent before it hit the rocks financially.

Despite a number of telephone calls to Franklins head office to get some official comment on the future of the Bowral outlet, retail operations chief Dennis Carter had not responded late yesterday.