SHOP staff at two Worcester stores are awaiting news on the future of their jobs.

Ethel Austin, which has a shop in Broad Street, was placed in administration earlier this week, and JJB Sports has announced it is to close 72 stores nationwide following a business review. The company has not revealed whether the Worcester store, in High Street, will be among them.

Merseyside-based Ethel Austin has 300 stores across the UK.

Yesterday it announced that redundancies were to be made at 33 of those, along with 181 redundancies at the company's headquarters. Worcester was not among the list, but a spokesman said the future of the city's store was still unclear.

Philip Duffy and David Whitehouse, partners in Menzies Corporate Restructuring (MCR), have been appointed joint administrators.

Mr Duffy said: "At this stage, it is too early to be certain about the exact reasons for the financial difficulties.

"Our primary concern is to ensure that the business continues to trade in the coming weeks and that a suitable buyer is found.

"Despite the current challenges faced by the retail sector we remain confident that a buyer can be found.

"Ethel Austin has a good brand and good customer base and this, together with its national coverage, should make it an attractive opportunity for a retailer.

"We appreciate that this is a worrying time for staff and are therefore keen to keep them informed of progress."

The company employs around 2,800 staff throughout its stores and the company headquarters in Knowsley.

Wigan-based JJB Sports has more than 400 outlets.

It has yet to confirm the 72 stores that are facing the axe but said many were already close to newer and larger stores in its estate.

The company said 1,200 jobs will be affected overall, but 400 of the positions will be deployed elsewhere in the business.

Seven of the sites are due to be re-badged as Original Shoe Company, a retailer acquired by JJB earlier this year.