B&M is closing another store this weekend but assures shoppers that “bigger and better” is coming.
The popular discounter is closing its Team Valley, Gateshead store on Sunday, October 22.
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It comes after the bargain retailer closed the doors on seven of its stores earlier in the year.
However, the B&M Gateshead store is not closing for good and will reopen on Saturday, October 28.
A statement on its website says: “Your B&M Gateshead store is closing temporarily for refurbishment works.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused while we bring you a bigger and better B&M store.”
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According to local news reports the retailer is expanding into the former Poundland store next door.
This will give the new shop a ground floor sales area of 26,705sqft and it will also have a 5,593sqft garden centre.
Shoppers are excited at the prospect of having a bigger store, one commented on Facebook: “It’s going to be huge!”
While another added: “Ohhhhh this will be amazing.”
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A third said: “Can’t wait to visit.”
The Poundland Team Valley Gateshead store closed on May, 25 following a string of other store closures for the retailer.
The rival discount chain has closed several locations this year including Norfolk, North Lanarkshire, Dewsbury and Ipswich.
But it is not all bad news for shoppers, Poundland told The Sun that it has opened or relocated 33 new stores so far this year.
It added that it plans to end the year with more stores than it started with and shoppers will have more space to browse.
B&M is also relocating some stores to bigger premises as well as opening up in new locations.
It has already completed a lot of its plans to relocate and refurbish, we have the full list below:
Full list of B&M store openings and relocations.
- Reading (Aug 28) – relocation
- Stockton (September 14)
- Irvine, Scotland (August 12)
- Southport (August 16)
- Glasgow (August 26) – relaunch
- Switch Island, Liverpool – (September 9) – relaunch
- Eastbourne (September 14)
- Newbury (October 7)
- Gateshead (October 28) – relaunch
- Hinkley (September 23)
- Wigan (September 29)
- Leven Garden Centre (September 20) – garden centre only
B&M has more than 700 stores across the UK and just last month it announced that it would take over 51 of the former Wilko stores in a deal worth £13milllion.
Wilko fell into administration in August after failing to find a buyer for the whole business.
Since then it has closed down all of its stores and is no longer a familiar face on the high street.
Fellow discounter Poundland also bought 71 Wilko locations and has already started to reopen them as Poundland stores.
Poundland shops have opened up in old Wilko locations including Derbyshire, Bolton, Bicester, and Sheffield.
B&M and Poundland are not the only retailers shaking things up on the high street.
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TK Maxx is also reportedly looking for new locations as part of expansion plans.
And Poundstretcher recently revealed plans to bring 50 new shops to the high street before the end of the year.
