SHOPPERS have been left devastated as a fashion chain with 400 shops is set to close a store “permanently” in 48 hours.
The major retailer has announced the closure of its store in Cumbernauld, Scotland.
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In another blow of closures, New Look confirmed it is rolling the shutters of the branch in The Centre Cumbernauld on March 20.
The move follows a series of closures by New Look since the beginning of 2023.
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.”
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After learning the store’s closure, local shoppers have voiced their frustration – with one condemning it as “a disgrace”.
Taking to social media, one fumed: “And another store bites the dust! Just shut it all down, scrap it, and rebuild.”
Slamming the town centre, one said: “It’s a horrible place to be. I look forward to it being demolished and hopefully something better in its place. But it really needs done now before it falls down.”
Another blasted: “They really should look at this it’s an awful town centre it’s has loads of coffee shops, barbers and charity shops and buckets not proper shops.”
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Other locals felt more compassionate towards staff.
A shopper said: “I’m feeling sad for the staff, I hope they have employment elsewhere.”
But many residents feared the move will now leave their town “ghosted”.
One said: “Yeah, more job losses. Cumbernauld was a ghost town a few years ago, it’s a graveyard now.”
Another added: “This Town Centre is well past its use by date. The powers that be need to stop dragging their feet.
A third penned: “It is a disgrace an eyesore not fit for purpose with an increasing lack of shops.”
A fourth slammed: “Absolute embarrassment of a shopping centre.”
It comes following a string of New Look closures since the start of 2023.
Most recently, it pulled down the shutters on its branch in Shirley, Southampton, on December 3.
In October, it closed its store in the Maybird Shopping Park, Stratford-upon-Avon.
Meanwhile, it closed one of its Worcestershire stores for good on September 9 and another in Beverley, East Yorkshire, the day before.
The retailer also shut shops in Slough and Windsor and pulled down the shutters on a Lancaster store in September.
But it’s not all bad news for the retailer as it has been opening branches as well.
It opened a bigger site in The Fosse Park Shopping Park, Leicester, last September after temporarily closing the site in the summer.
New Look has also opened stores in Grimsby and Leicester in recent months too.
It comes as the Body Shop is set to close 21 stores branches this week in a fresh blow to the high street.
The cosmetics and skincare chain collapsed into administration last month, before announcing 75 shops will shut.
Why are retailers closing stores?
Retailer 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 after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is “less bad” than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” Prof Bamfield said.
“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023’s biggest failures included UK Flooring Direct, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
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However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
Last year, around 14% of insolvencies were in retail businesses, according to official figures.
