UK - The depression has claimed three more retail chains, with the Greeting Card Group, Music Zone and Waterford Wedgwood UK plc together with its Irish operations and subsidiaries.

Greeting Card Group, the second-largest card retailer in the UK with more than 2,500 staff and 470 stores trading as Cardfair and Card Warehouse, appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers as its administrator.

Private equity-owned Music Zone, the UK's third-largest music and film retailer, blamed its bankers as it collapsed. Deloitte was appointed administrator to the 104-store Music Zone chain yesterday. The retailer employs 1,100 people.

Music Zone blamed its bankers, but its bankers blamed its debt ridden structure.

Waterford Wedgwood employs around 1,570 staff in the UK and Ireland and has 19 stores as well as 120 concessions in larger department stores. It has 600 staff at its manufacturing base in Barlaston, Stoke on Trent, 170 in its stores, and 800 in Waterford, Ireland.