‘Ghost town’ grumble shoppers as bargain fashion chain to close another store for good with MORE to follow

A HIGH street fashion chain has closed yet another branch after already closing more than 200 branches.

Peacocks, which once had more than 400 stores across the UK, closed another of its stores on March 16.

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Peacocks collapsed into administration in 2020 and was forced to close just over 200 of its 400 stores.

The chain was rescued in April 2021 and was able to keep its remaining stores open, saving 2,000 jobs.

But now, the retailer has had to close more of its doors in a desperate bid to stay afloat.

The latest to bite the bullet is the Peacocks branch in Clarendon Square Mall in Hyde, which closed for good on Saturday, March 16.

According to Tameside Correspondent, the nearest branch is now Ashton-under-Lyne.

The Peacocks branch in Hyde actually had a closing down sale back in 2020, although it re-opened after Covid restrictions were lifted.

Now, it appears that the closure is permanent.

It’s not the only Peacocks store set to disappear from the high street in the coming weeks.

The retailer has announced it will close its store in Merthyr Tydfil high street in Wales on March 23.

The bargain fashion chain will be closing with a bang though, holding a mega 30 per cent off everything sale.

Meanwhile, the shop in Ashford’s County Square Shopping Centre in Kent will also close on March 23.

The unit has just reopened after “essential electrical works” forced it to remain closed for more than a week.

Elsewhere, Peacocks in Camborne, Cornwall, will close on April 3.

Plus, it is also shuttering its branch in Boscombe, Bournemouth, on April 6 in a blow for locals.

The retailer revealed news of the closure on its Facebook page which also showed a closing down sign-up in the branch window.

Peacocks collapsed into administration in November 2020 and shut half of the 420 stores they had at the time, in a major blow to the high street.

The fashion chain went bust after struggling for business amid the coronavirus pandemic and multiple lockdowns.

However, it has been slowly reappearing on the high street, building its portfolio back up to around 350 stores.

And in October last year, the chain revealed it had plans to open seven new stores across Wales, England and Scotland.

It did not confirm the exact opening dates for the new stores.

It comes as several other major chains have taken serious hits to business on the high street.

Last year popular retailers such as Wilko fell into administration and vanished from the high street for good.

Body Shop has also recently fallen into administration and revealed it would be closing almost half of its 198 stores.

Seven branches have already closed with immediate effect but administrators for the high street stalwart said it is looking to “secure the brand’s future” with the restructure.

Troubled fashion brand Superdry is also looking at various “cost-saving options” after reports it is considering a major restructuring.

A Sports Direct branch in Stroud, Gloucestershire, will be pulling the shutters down for good at the end of March – after it shuttered its branch in the Central Six Retail Park, Coventry, at the end of January.

Supermarket chains such as Lidl, Tesco and Iceland have been closing stores since the start of 2023.

And budget retailers such as Poundstretcher and Argos have been struggling to keep some of their single stores afloat too.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk