A MAJOR high street stalwart has announced it is closing another branch this week leaving shoppers shocked.
Argos is closing one of its branches in Staines-upon-Thames but it is not all bad news.
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Argos in Staines-upon-Thames is due to close for good but it will make a permanent move to the Sainsbury’s in Staines on Wednesday 29.
This is not far from the first Argos closure we have seen in the past few months Argos has already closed 42 UK shops.
As the retailer is not owned by supermarket Sainsbury’s several of its stores have been relocated so they sit inside supermarkets making it more convenient for shoppers.
Locals to Facebook to share their disappointment at hearing the news.
Read more on store closures
One user said: “Sad but the reason shops are closing is simple … people shop online.”
“Yet another retail business reducing and affecting our high street,” said another user.
“My son used to work there…” said a third user.
Many others were at least grateful that they would have
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An Argos spokesperson said: “To make shopping more convenient for customers and to enable us to invest where it matters most, we are relocating many of our standalone Argos stores to Sainsbury’s – this includes our Staines-upon-Thames Argos store.
This week, a brand-new Argos will open inside Sainsbury’s Staines, enabling customers to purchase thousands of technology, home and toy products from Argos while picking up their groceries.”
Why is Argos closing branches?
Last year, Argos announced plans to close 100 UK branches over the following 12 months.
The closures are part of the retailer’s plan to move away from the high street and focus on expanding its presence in supermarkets.
It also closed all of its 34 stores in the Republic of Ireland on June 2 last year stating the Irish part of its business was “not viable”.
Argos has not yet revealed the full list of stores it is due to close but here are some:
- Hull
- Grantham
- Grimsby
- Norwich
- Scunthorpe
- Newport
- Cardiff Bay
- Stevenage
The homewares retailer confirmed to The Sun last July that its standalone stores in Grimsby and Scunthorpe would close last August but it could not confirm the exact dates.
Argos had plans to open stores inside nearby Sainsbury’s stores in both Lincolnshire towns.
An Argos store in St Stephen’s shopping centre in Hull closed in September, but a new concession was understood to be opening in the nearby Sainsbury’s.
What is happening to the high street?
Several other retailers have been struggling to get by over the past few years.
Energy costs have risen and more shoppers than ever are choosing to order online rather than head into stores.
This has left some retailers grappling with budgets and having no choice but to close stores to cut costs.
Troubled fashion brand Superdry has said it is looking at various “cost-saving options” after reports it is considering a major restructuring which could include store closures and job cuts.
Boots revealed it would be closing 300 stores over the next year as part of plans to evolve its brand.
The Body Shop is currently going through administration and announced plans to close half of its 198 stores with seven already closing last week.
WHSmith told The Sun it has no plans to open anymore more high street stores as it wants to focus on the travel side of its business.
Major banks have also announced multiple branch closures.
Barclays is to start pulling the shutters down on 14 sites in England, three in Wales and three in Scotland as soon as April.
Even charity shops are struggling Oxfam confirmed it would close eight of its UK stores last year.
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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
