Play.com to shut down retail business

The closure of the Jersey tax loophole last year has been blamed for the end of Play.com as we know it.

The retailer has confirmed that it will from March 2013 become a marketplace-only service, allowing customers to sell goods via their site with Play taking a slice, much like eBay or Amazon’s marketplace.

147 jobs have been lost in Jersey and a further 67 across its Cambridge and Bristol offices.

Play.com was sold to Japanese company Rakuten for just 25m in September 2011 and has subsequently become a significantly diminished figure in the online retail space.

Just two months later the Government announced the closure of the tax loophole that allowed retailers to skip VAT payments on any items costing 15 or less.

Comments removed and disabled on this piece out of respect for those likely to lose their jobs.