Shoppers are seen outside Debenhams store on London's Oxford Street. Debenhams plans to close up to 50 stores, nearly a third of the UK-wide chain, putting up to 5,000 jobs at risk. The department store unveiled a near £500m annual loss as it writes off the value of its brand and the cost of unwanted shop leases and IT systems. The retail sector faces difficulties as consumers cut down on spending and do more of their shopping online. A report by accountancy firm PWC has said that over 1,000 stores disappeared from Britain's top 500 high streets in the first six months of the year.

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Keywords: business, debenhams, economy, oxford, retail, sector, shop, store, street