HUNDREDS of high street brands are closing stores for good this year, and a number will shut before the end of the month.
Retailers have been feeling the pinch since the pandemic while shoppers are cutting back spending due to soaring inflation.
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Plus, over 15,000 jobs have been axed since the start of the year as dozens of retailers collapsed or were restructured.
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.
Some well-known retailers are shutting a handful of branches, while others are set to disappear completely from the high street.
Here we round up all the shops set to close before the end of the month.
B&M
B&M is set to close four of its stores this year, including in Stockton and Bristol.
It’s also closing its Kilmarnock branch in the Queens Drive Retail park on March 26.
B&Q
B&Q started closing eight “mini shops” inside Asda supermarkets from March 11.
The full list includes:
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- Sheffield Drakehouse
- Dagenham
- Roehampton
- Edmonton
- Thurmaston
- Great Bridge
- Lancaster
- Hartlepool
Clintons
One of the UK’s biggest card retailers Clintons has announced it will close two stores for good by the end of this month.
Its store in Whitehaven, Cumbria, is closing on March 19.
Bolton’s Market Street store is set to close by the end of the month too, although a specific date has not been confirmed.
Homesense
Homesense is part of the same company that owns TK Maxx and mostly sells home furnishings.
It has announced it will be closing its Swansea branch in March, although has not confirmed a specific date.
Iceland
Iceland, known mostly for stocking frozen goods, is closing down three further stores by the end of month.
The full list includes:
- South Street, Newport, Isle of Wight – March 25
- St Catherine’s Place, Bedminster, Bristol – March 25
- Deiniol Centre, Bangor – March 27
There are currently around 500 Iceland branches and 153 Food Warehouse stores in the UK.
What other stores are closing this year?
Halfords, House of Fraser and even high street giant M&S are among some of the retailers closing stores this year.
Stationery retailer Paperchase is already in the process of closing branches too.
A number of banks and building societies are set to close within days.
Barclays is set to close four branches this month, including in Birmingham, Sittingbourne and Torquay.
Meanwhile, NatWest is closing five branches and Santander is pulling down shutters on three on March 30.
Halifax is also closing one branch on March 29.
If you are worried about your local bank branch closing, you’ve got some options.
You can always switch to a different bank or building society that has a branch closer to you.
Or, if you don’t want to switch, you can use one of the Post Office’s 11,635 branches to carry out most basic banking tasks.
Some banks run “mobile banking services” too where they bring a bus to your local area offering the services normally available at your nearest physical branch.
It’s worth contacting your bank if you’re struggling to get to your nearest branch to see if they offer such a service.
