A SUPERMARKET giant is set to close two branches within hours after axing its discount chain.
Tesco is pulling down the shutters on its sites in Wakefield Westgate retail park and Kilner Way retail park in Sheffield today.
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Both stores were previously converted from the chain’s discount brand Jack’s to Tesco in 2022.
Tesco closed its Jack’s supermarkets last year, converting six of the 13 branches into new Tesco superstores, while the others permanently shut.
The decision to shut both sites was made due to a lack of customer demand.
But shoppers have been taking to social media to share their disappointment at the news.
One Facebook user said: “Such a shame. I liked shopping at Tesco. Staff were so helpful and friendly.”
Meanwhile, another shopper wrote: “Another one bites the dust!”
A third Tesco fan said it was a “shame”, while another added that they were “gutted” by the closure.
All staff currently working at the stores will have the option to be redeployed to another one in the area.
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Both supermarkets have Tesco Express stores in the surrounding area.
The other four former Jack’s stores that were converted to Tesco supermarkets remain open.
The remaining sites include Edgehill, Chatteris, Rubery and Immingham.
In 2018, Tesco launched discount store Jack’s in a bid to take on rival retailers Lidl and Aldi.
It had branches in towns and cities like Hull, Walton, Barnsley and Liverpool.
But just four years later, the retailer announced that it was closing all Jack’s stores with round 130 jobs affected by the decision.
The supermarket giant said it “learned a tremendous amount” from the business, which was named after founder Jack Cohen.
Tesco said its experience with Jack’s helped its core business to be more competitive with rival chains.
Of course there are still over 2,800 Tesco locations to shop at, you can find your nearest one using the store locator tool on its website.
Meanwhile, we list further store closures affecting UK shoppers below.
Other store closures
Soaring inflation has left shoppers strapped for cash, and retailers are struggling to get customers to part with their hard-earned money.
High energy costs and a shift to online shopping are also taking a toll and many brands and many just haven’t been able to keep going.
All Wilko stores will close for good by October, administrators announced on Monday.
The first closures began on Tuesday, resulting in over 1,000 redundancies.
Meanwhile, Iceland will be pulling the shutters down on two of its supermarkets next Saturday.
The discount chain has closed over a dozen shops this year already.
The chain’s supermarkets in the Market Shopping Centre in Crewe and its branch in Grange Road, Birkenhead, will close for the last time on Saturday, September 16.
It follows the closures of 15 Iceland supermarkets earlier this year.
Farmfoods is to close its store in Market Street, Huddersfield, on Sunday, September 24.
This isn’t the first store that Farmfoods has closed this year.
Its Cowgate store in Dundee shut in March, with another Glasgow shop closing the month before.
Plus its store in West Bromwich closed in May.
The frozen food specialist pulled down the shutters at its Baillieston branch at the end of February.
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