MAJOR high street brands are closing more of their stores within weeks.
Argos, Iceland, and a number of other big brands are shutting stores for good.
Some stores will be replaced with brand new shops while others will leave the high street forever.
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Retailers have been feeling the pinch since the pandemic while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to soaring inflation.
High energy costs and a shift to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
Here’s a full list of some well-known retailers will be shutting a handful of branches within weeks.
Argos
Argos closed all 34 of its stores in the Republic of Ireland on June 24.
It came after the retailer’s home delivery service wound down across the country in March.
The retailer is also closing two standalone stores in the UK this year, including one in Newport, Wales, later this summer.
Meanwhile, its branch in Cardiff Bay is closing in July, although Sainsbury’s, which owns the brand, has not yet given an exact date.
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But it’s not all bad news. While the retailer is moving away from the high street it is expanding its presence in supermarkets.
By the end of March, it had opened 25 Argos locations inside Sainsbury’s stores.
Meanwhile, by the end of March 2024, Sainsbury’s plans to have 160 standalone stores and between 430 and 460 Argos counters inside its supermarkets.
Co-op
Co-op is pulling down the shutters on two stores in July and August.
The retailer will close its branch in Castle House, Sheffield, on July 22, with nearby stores in Broad Lane and Glossop Road remaining open.
Meanwhile, the chain’s branch in Mildenhall Road, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, is pulling down its shutters for good on August 19.
Commenting on the Bury closure, a spokesperson for the business said it “regularly reviews all of its sites and decisions regarding any store are only taken after careful consideration”.
It comes after Co-op shut a number of other branches earlier this year with others mooted for closure.
Iceland
Supermarket chain Iceland has already pulled down the shutters on more than half a dozen shops this year.
But the retailer, which operates around 500 branches currently, plans to make one further closure in July too.
It will close its St David’s Place branch in Swansea City Centre on July 29.
Its store in Birkenhead is closing on September 16 as well.
Trespass
Outdoor clothing retailer Trespass is pulling the shutters down on six stores, with one closing for good this weekend.
Its branch in Washington Square, Workington, will close on Sunday, July 9, according to local news reports.
Meanwhile, its store in Chesterfield will open for the final time on November 18, Derbyshire Times reports.
But four other stores, including one in Canterbury and Solihull, are also marked for closures, according to reports.
Huge signs advertising a closing down sale have appeared in shop windows with the tagline, “everything must go”.
It is not clear when these stores will close and they are currently still open for business, according to the Trespass store locator tool.
What other stores are closing?
The high street has been hit hard in recent years due to the growth of online retailing which was accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, runaway inflation means shoppers are holding back from spending as much.
It comes as research from the British Retail Consortium reveals retailers remain cautious about opening new stores.
It found the overall shop vacancy rate in Britain in the first three months of 2023 was 13.8%, the same as the last three months of 2022.
New Look and Habitat are among some of the retailers that have already closed stores in July.
We have put together a guide to all the stores closing this month so you can check if your favourite store is leaving the high street.
