About 2800 shop workers are set to lose their jobs after the administrators of Clinton Cards announced plans to shut its Birthdays chain.
The retailer's 784 store estate was "untenable", said administrators Zolfo Cooper, who will start the process of closing 350 outlets on Monday. The stores employ approximately 2800 full-time and part-time staff.
"Given the sheer size of the Clinton Cards retail estate and the overall performance, we were left with no alternative to today's difficult decision," said Zolfo Cooper's Peter Saville. The cull would "preserve value" in the underlying business and make it more attractive to potential buyers, he said.
Last week Clinton's was pushed into administration when its largest supplier, American Greetings, bought up its £35m debt from Barclays and taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland then called in the loans.