850 jobs may go at home shopping company.

UP TO 850 jobs in West Yorkshire are at risk after the French owner of home shopping firm Empirestores announced plans to close the loss-making business.

Redcats UK, the owner of the 175-year-old business, said Empirestores operations would cease by January next year unless a buyer is found. It blamed the decision on the impact of competition from internet sites and cut-price shops.

Empirestores employs 350 people at its corporate headquarters in Bradford and another 500 at a warehousing and distribution base in Wakefield.

It also has an unspecified number of agents around the country who earn commission from catalogue sales.

Empirestores has reportedly seen revenues plunge by 50% in the past 10 years.

Redcats said closing the business would enable it to refocus as a web-based distributor and ensure the viability of the company's remaining UK operations - French-supplied home-shopping businesses La Redoute, Vertbaudet and Daxon.

Empirestores was the UK's first home-shopping brand and started by selling watches in the 18th century.

Managing director Stephen Roche said: "We deeply regret having to implement these initiatives."

The company said there was "no prospect" of sales recovering due to the continuing credit squeeze and poor consumer confidence. Lower sales had generated losses with no prospects of recovery.

It is understood there will be no job losses among the Empirestores staff before April this year. A spokesman for Empirestores told customers it would be "business as usual" for the time being.