‘Don’t you go leaving me now’ cry shoppers as supermarket with over 300 branches shuts shop for good in HOURS

A DISCOUNT supermarket which has served its local community for more than a century is set to close its doors for good within hours.  

Co-op has had a presence in Swindon for more than 110 years although that support has taken different forms.

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However tomorrow February 3, the Co-op store in Rodbourne Road in Swindon is set to shut its doors forever.

This is the Co-op members’ retailer run by the Midcounties Co-operative which is different to the mainstream Co-Op which deals in food, insurance, legal services and funerals. 

The Midcounties Co-operative, which has over 300 stores, is a business owned by members which means people can share the business profits and have their say in how it’s run

Taking to Facebook locals were disappointed the hear the news.

One user declared: “Well here it is people”

“Don’t you go leaving me now,” said someone else. 

One former store employee said: “I’ll be working today and tomorrow for my last shifts – it’s been a pleasure.” 

A Spokesperson for the Midcounties Co-operative said: “The Midcounties Co-operative continues to invest in our food retail business, having opened 12 new stores over the last two years, investing more than £7.5 million. 

“Our Board regularly reviews our property footprint to ensure we’re providing the best opportunity to deliver for our members and support local communities across the Midcounties region. 

“As part of this work, it was identified that the Rodbourne Road Store no longer fit with the long-term strategy of the Society. 

“Our Board therefore took the very difficult decision to place this property on the market and can confirm the site has now found a new owner. 

“All affected colleagues have either been offered roles by the new owners or in nearby stores. We look forward to continuing to serve our local communities within Your Co-op Food stores in the local area.”

We saw another Midcounties Co-op closure in November last year in Oxford.

Co-Op has also had to make tough decisions to close stores in recent weeks.

The Co-op in Peacehaven’s Meridian Shopping Centre, East Sussex, closed last month.

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.

Homebase closed a store last year leaving it with just 93 stores remaining since it was taken over by Hilco Capital in 2018.

Competitor Poundstretcher closed multiple stores last year but also opened new stores in closed Wilko stores.

Boots revealed it would be closing 300 stores over the next year as part of plans to evolve its brand.

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.

Most supermarket retailers seemed to have braved the storm, with some even announcing new store openings.

Asda opened 21 new locations last month and aims to convert all 470 stores acquired from the Co-op and EG Group in a £438 million deal to Asda Express stores.

Marks and Spencer opened 15 new stores last year and plans to open another three by spring this year.

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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk