The economic downturn has claimed a further 16 jobs in the county with the closure of two menswear shops.

The Officers Club store in Gravesend, and the Petroleum branch in the Dockside Outlet Centre, Chatham, have shut.

Seven Petroleum staff have lost their jobs, with a further nine going at the Gravesend store.

However, the Maidstone branch of The Officers Club, in the Mall Chequers Centre, is one of 118 stores that will stay open following the chain’s sale to TimeC 1215 for an undisclosed sum, savimg a handful of jobs.

Thirty-two stores, including the two in Kent and Medway, have closed immediately.

The sale to TimeC 1215, a company set up by David Charlton, chief executive of The Officers Club, to buy the store chain, is expected to save more than 1,000 jobs.

administration

The Officers Club and Petroleum, based in Northumberland, went into administration on Monday.

Administrators at PricewaterhousCoopers said that like many retail clothing chains The Officers Club had been facing stiff competition, making trading conditions even more difficult.

Ian Green, joint administrator and partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Leeds said: "We are delighted to be able to announce this sale, resulting in the preservation of over 900 jobs, particularly at this challenging time in the retail sector.

"The sale to TimeC 1215 Limited represents a significantly better result for the companies’ creditors than any other alternative."

Mr Charlton said: "We are very pleased to be able to secure this deal and protect the employment of over 900 people in the stores and head office. We welcome the opportunity to take the business forward and look forward to a successful future."

The Officers club was founded in Sunderland in the 1990s and bought clothes cheaply from Asia. It faced tougher competition when it tried to move upmarket and was vulnerable to the credit crunch.