SEVERAL major high street chains will close a number of their stores next month.
Argos, Iceland, and a number of other big brands are shutting stores for good in June.
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Some stores will be replaced with brand new shops while others will leave the high street forever.
Argos is closing all remaining Irish stores this month and another two standalone UK branches later this summer whilst expanding its presence in Sainsbury’s supermarkets.
Iceland is closing another one of its supermarkets in June.
Lloyds Pharmacy, Poundland and Poundstretcher are also shutting shops but opening new stores in the coming months.
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.
In June, some well-known retailers will be shutting a handful of branches – we reveal all below.
Argos
Argos will close all of its stores in the Republic of Ireland in June.
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The chain currently employs around 580 people in 34 stores across the country.
But Argos will withdraw from Ireland completely on June 24.
Here’s the full list of Argos stores set to close in Ireland:
- Ashbourne Retail Park
- Athlone Argos
- Blanchardstown West End Argos
- Carlow Argos
- Castlebar Argos
- Cavan Argos
- Clonmel Argos
- Cork Mahon Argos
- Cork Retail Park Argos
- Drogheda Argos
- Dun Laoghaire Argos
- Dundalk Retail Park Argos
- Dundrum Argos
- Galway Argos
- Ilac Centre (Dublin) Argos
- Kilkenny Argos
- Killarney Argos
- Letterkenny Argos
- Liffey Valley Argos
- Limerick Childers Road Argos
- Longford Argos
- Monaghan Argos
- Naas Argos
- Navan Argos
- Omni Park (Dublin) Argos
- Portlaoise Argos
- Rathfarnham Nutgrove Argos
- Sligo Argos 4146
- St. Stephens Green (Dublin)
- Tallaght Argos
- Tralee Argos
- Tullamore Argos
- Waterford Argos
- Wexford Argos
Argos also has plans to close a further two standalone stores in the UK later this year.
Cardiff Bay’s Argos will close in July – but Sainsbury’s has not yet given an exact date.
Argos will then close its Newport, Wales branch later on in the summer.
The retailer is moving away from the high street and expanding its presence in supermarkets, with concessions inside branches.
By the end of March 2023, the retailer had opened 25 Argos locations inside Sainsbury’s stores.
And by March 2024, Sainsbury’s expects to have 160 standalone stores and between 430 and 460 Argos counters inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets.
Iceland
Iceland has already shut the doors on more than half a dozen shops this year, but more closures are on the way.
Several stores closed for good earlier this year, including branches in Bromsgrove, Basingstoke and Rhyl.
Plus, a further three stores in Newport, Berwick and Hexham closed on Saturday, April 22.
Shoppers in Flint, Wales, will also lose their store on May 27.
And Iceland’s Beccle branch in Suffolk will shut for good on June 17.
This will bring the total number of Iceland closures this year to 11.
Lloyds Pharmacy
Lloyds Pharmacy has begun pulling down the shutters on seven chemists, mostly located in Sainsbury’s supermarkets, this month.
A branch in Sainsbury’s in Civic Way, in Swadlincote, will close on May 30.
Lloyds Pharmacy in Fore Street, Okehampton, Devon, will change hands by the end of the month.
The standalone store won’t close, but it will no longer operate under the Lloyds Pharmacy brand name.
But several more closures will then take place in June and July, including in Sainsbury’s supermarkets in Chesterfield, Kidlington and Gloucester.
The following Lloyds Pharmacy stores will close in June:
- Sainsbury’s Peak Drive, Allenton, Derby – early June
- Sainsbury’s Rother Way, Chesterfield – June 13
- Sainsbury’s Newport – June 13
Two more stores in Kidlington and Gloucester will shut for good in July.
Lloyds said the closing date could change as plans are being determined on a branch-by-branch basis.
Lloyds has already announced the closure of 237 of its pharmacies in Sainsbury’s supermarkets by the end of the year and closed 76 stores in 2022.
Poundland
Poundland is closing a single store in Broad Street, Lynn within the Vancouver Quarter on June 2.
The store is closing after the landlords asked them to vacate the site.
But the single closure comes as Poundland has expansion plans in its sights.
The discounted plans to open 50 new stores across the country by the end of September.
Some of the 50 stores will be existing stores relocating to different areas.
For now, it is not known how many Poundland stores will be new ones and how many are relocations.
But dozens of new shops have already opened to shoppers in recent months.
Poundstretcher
Poundstretcher its Leyland store on Churchill Way Retail Park on June 23.
But like its competitor Poundland, Poundstretcher is in the middle of expanding its presence on the high street.
It has plans to open 50 new stores by the of the year.
The discount chain opened 30 locations in 2022 and has 350 shops nationwide.
Other stores that are closing this year
As well as companies leaving the high street for good, other major retailers have announced they’ll be shutting some of their branches this year too.
Frankie and Benny’s owner The Restaurant Group (TRG) revealed in March that it is considering shutting 35 sites over the next two years.
The Sun has so far spotted three Frankie and Benny’s restaurants listed for sale by estate agents Savills.
In December 2022, pub chain Wetherspoons announced it would be closing a total of 39 pubs after being hit by soaring inflation.
Plus burger chain Byron Burger fell into administration, immediately closing nine of its branches.
Prezzo is to close 46 branches after being hit hard by soaring energy and food costs.
The Italian restaurant chain has said about 810 workers are at risk of redundancy as part of the overhaul.
If you want to know more about store closures, you can read our full list of high street chains closing for good this year.
