DOZENS of shops will close their doors for good before Easter in a further battering for high streets across Britain.
Boots, Argos, and Sports Direct are among the big names axing stores before March 31.
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There were approximately 14 outlets lost every day in 2023, according to the latest research by the Local Data Company and accountancy firm PwC.
Even more closed – 39 stores in total each day – but another 25 are estimated to open their doors for the first time, meaning fewer have been lost overall.
Companies collapsing into administration as more businesses shift to online have driven the losses, according to the research.
There a total of 14,081 store closures in 2023, an increase from 11,530 in 2022.
Read on store closures
The rising cost of living means households have been much more careful with spending.
A change in shopping habits has seen more people heading online to buy.
At the same time, higher energy and premise costs have also put further pressure on retail businesses.
And it’s not just shops that are closing, pubs, cafes and restaurants are too.
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Here are some of the outlets that are set to go before the Easter weekend.
New Look
Fashion chain New Look has closed a number of its 400 sites over recent months.
And now it is pulling down the shutters on its store in The Centre, Cumbernauld, Scotland, on March 20.
Commenting on the closure, a spokesperson for the retailer said: “As part of the normal course of business, New Look occasionally closes stores, while also undertaking relocations and new site openings.
“While some sites have closed recently, we remain on the lookout for appropriate new opportunities across the country.”
Locals reacted with sadness to the latest closure, and one even branded it “a disgrace” online.
One person said: “The residents of Cumbernauld deserve better than this.”
At the end of last year, the chain closed its branch in Shirley, Southampton and a store in Maybird Shopping Park, Stratford-upon-Avon.
Boots
High street favourite Boots is closing a total of nine sites this month,
It’s part of wider plans to get rid of 300 sites.
Locations that are being closed have another Boots store nearby.
Here are the most recent closures
Now Rainham, in Kent is set to close on March 20 while Castlecroft in Wolverhampton will shut on March 21.
On March 23 shoppers will say goodbye to the Rhos on Sea store, Wales.
North Kenton, Newcastle has recently closed, along with Welwyn Garden City and the East Parade store, Heworth, York.
The branch at Pool, Redruth, Cornwall closed at the start of the month.
Shoppers have reacted on social media to the news with dismay.
Argos
Iconic chain Argos has confirmed it is axing 100 stores over 2024.
The shop in Kingstown, Carlisle will be shutting it doors this month, though an exact date has not been given.
It comes after the Argos store at the Overgate in Dundee city centre has recently closed.
Sainsbury’s, which owns Argos, is getting rid of many standalone stores to bring them within supermarkets instead as click-and-collect points.
Last year the high street giant shut 47 shops including all 34 of its branches in the Republic of Ireland in June.
By March 2024, Sainsbury’s expects to have 160 standalone stores and between 430 and 460 Argos counters inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets
Retailers closing stores in 2024
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
Here’s a list of all the big-name brands closing stores this year:
- Argos – The brand announced plans to close 100 standalone UK branches last year as it looks to move away from the high street and focus on expanding its presence in supermarkets.
- B&Q – The chain has over 300 shops across the UK, so chances are you have one near you, but some stores have closed in recent months.
- Boots – The health and beauty chain announced that it would be closing 300 stores last July. Closures are ongoing and this will see the retailer’s estate reduced from 2,200 to 1,900 shops.
- Clintons – Clintons mulled plans to close 38 shops in a bid to avoid insolvency late last year. We’ve listed the stores affected.
- Costa Coffee – The caffeine giant has around 2,000 sites nationwide, so chances are you’ll have one near you. The chain has shut the doors to dozens of its sites recently. We’ve revealed which stores are due to close this year.
- Iceland – The supermarket has more than 900 stores but closed nearly two dozen sites in 2023, and more selected shops are due to shut.
- Lidl – The supermarket, which has 950 stores, is changing up shop locations, which has meant that some stores have to close. But the retailer is also looking to open 12 new supermarkets.
- M&S – M&S, which runs 405 stores across the country, has been closing a string of branches across the country in a blow for shoppers. It’s not all bad news, though, because the chain also has big plans to open dozens of new shops as well.
- Trespass – The firm announced in July last year that it was closing six branches, but more are on the way.
- WHSmith – The retail giant, which runs over 1,100 stores, has shuttered eight stores since March 2023, but more are coming.
Peacocks
Another fashion chain is losing stores, as Peacocks is expected to closes its branch in Ashford, Kent on March 23.
The chain has around 350 stores in the UK, but has scaled back in recent years.
The news of closure has been a blow for locals with many reacting online.
One said: “Won’t be anything left in town centres soon.”
Another said: “I hope they will finally rename the shopping centre… Ghost Square!”
Just after Easter, Peacocks will also be pulling down the shutters on its store in Camborne, Cornwall on April 3.
The chain recently closed its branch in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk on January 25.
The Works
Stationery retailer The Works is set to close another store this weekend.
The discount chain, sells value gifts, arts, and crafts, toys, books and stationery.
The branch in Caemarfon, Wales is expected to shut its doors for good by March 18.
It comes as the chain confirmed it will also close a branch in Dereham this year.
However, fans will be happy to hear the chain is set to open stores elsewhere later this year.
The Works will be closing a branch in Dereham in May this year but it will be opening other stores elsewhere.
Sports Direct
Local fans of Sports Direct were disappointed to learn that it is scrapping its branch in Stroud, Gloucestershire at the end of March.
Ahead of the closure, 20% off sale posters were plastered over the windows.
However, it’s not all bad news at is returning at a new location in the Five Valleys Shopping Centre, which will open on April 1.
Sports Direct also said their new site will be larger and offer a wider selection of products.
Sports Direct, which runs over 500 stores in the UK, has also recently pulled down the shutters on its branch at the Orbital Shopping Park in Swindon.
At the end of last year a branch was shut in Blackpool.
Plus, Direct Fitness, owned by Sports Direct, shut its Salisbury site for good.
The Body Shop
After falling into administration, The Body Shop has been shutting stores.
And the failed brand is set to have closed a total of 75 sites over the coming weeks, with dates confirmed for some but not all branches.
Some stores have already gone and more will follow. Almost 500 staff will be out of a job with the closures, according to administrators FRP Advisory.
Below is the full list of locations already closed or shutting shortly
- Aylesbury
- Banbury
- Barnstaple
- Basildon
- Battersea
- Bedford
- Beverley
- Bexleyheath
- Blackburn
- Blackpool
- Bournemouth Commercial Rd
- Bolton
- Brixton
- Broughton Park
- Bury
- Camberley
- Carlisle
- Carmarthen
- Chippenham
- Cirencester
- Croydon
- Didcot
- Durham
- East Kilbride
- Edinburgh Gyle Centre
- Edinburgh Princes Mall
- Epsom
- Fareham
- Farnborough
- Glasgow Braehead
- Glasgow Fort
- Glasgow Silverbur
- Glasgow Station
- Grimsby
- Halifax
- Harlow
- Hastings
- Hempstead Valley
- High Wycombe
- Huddersfield
- Hull
- Ilford
- Ipswich
- Isle of Wight
- Islington
- Kendal
- Kings Lynn
- Leeds White Rose
- Lewisham Centre
- Lichfield
- Loughborough
- Luton
- Macclesfield
- Middlesbrough
- Morpeth
- Newton Abbot
- Northampton
- Oldham
- Perth
- Peterborough Queensgate
- Portsmouth
- Regent Street
- Salisbury
- Stafford
- Stanstead Airside
- Stratford Upon Avon
- Swansea
- Telford
- Thanet
- Trowbridge
- Wakefield Trinity Walk
- Walthamstow
- Wigan
- Woking
- Wolverhampton
However, administrators have confirmed that 116 branches across the UK will remain open for now.
Who was The Body Shop founder Anita Roddick?
Dame Anita Roddick, born October 23, 1942, was a British businesswoman, human rights activist and environmental campaigner.
Throughout her lifetime, Anita was best known as the founder of the Body Shop – a cosmetics company producing and retailing natural beauty products.
Anita opened her first Body Shop in Brighton back in 1976.
The brand first started as a small shop providing quality skincare products in refilled bottles, with the belief that the business could be a force for good.
Following this, the Body Shop went on to become a global retail business serving over 30 million customers worldwide.
As a keen campaigner, Anita was involved in activism for environmental and social issues, such as involvement with Greenpeace and The Big Issue.
In addition to this, in 1990, the late entrepreneur founded Children on the Edge – a charitable organisation which helps disadvantaged children in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia.
In 2007 Anita, who also worked alongside her husband Gordan, sold the company to L’Oréal, but still played an active role in the business.
French firm L’Oreal paid £625million for the company, providing Anita and her husband Gordon with more than £100million for their 18 per cent share in the business.
In September 2007, Dame Anita Roddick passed away at 64 from a brain haemorrhage after being admitted to St Richard’s Hospital, Chichester, West Sussex.
Her husband Gordon, and her two daughters, Sam and Justine, were at her side.
Prior to her passing, Anita had revealed that she was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2004.
The late founder’s illness was first discovered during a routine blood test for a life insurance policy.
She had lived with the illness for more than 30 years before it was discovered – by which time she was suffering from cirrhosis of the liver.
In 2008, a year after her passing, Anita’s will revealed that she had given away all of her £51million to charity and the rest to tax.
Wetherspoons
Many Wetherspoons punters will be looking for a new local as more sites are closing.
The Sir Norman Rae in Market Street, Shipley, West Yorkshire, will call last orders on March 24 after finding a buyer.
And Wetherspoons is also set to close The Holland Tringham in in Streatham, London, on March 10.
However, the closure is only temporary, with pints set to be pulled again by April 30 after a period of renovations.
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The chain – which has 827 pubs across the UK – warned in September 2022 that it was putting dozens of its pubs up for sale.
But despite the closures, the much-loved chain is still aiming to claim 1,000 venues.
