A HUGE high street brand is abruptly closing one store today as part of a plan to shut 100 shops.
Argos is closing its standalone store at Maskew Avenue Retail Park in Peterborough today.
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However, the closure comes as it plans to relocate its services to Sainsbury’s in Bretton, Peterborough tomorrow.
An Argos spokesperson said: “The transformation of our Argos store and distribution network has been progressing at pace for several years now, improving availability, convenience and service for customers.
“As part of this, we are continuing to open new Argos stores and collection points in many of our Sainsbury’s supermarkets, enabling customers to purchase thousands of technology, home and toy products from Argos while picking up their groceries.”
The popular retailer has already closed a number of its UK stores as part of its plan to move away from the high street.
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Argos, which is owned by Sainsbury’s has a plan to close 100 stores across the UK in 2023/24 and focus on expanding its presence in supermarkets.
It has already shut more than 45 branches in the last 12 months and opened up over 25 branches inside Sainsbury’s stores.
A spokesperson for Argos previously told The Sun: “The transformation of our Argos store and distribution network has been progressing at pace for several years now, improving availability, convenience and service for customers.
“As part of this we are continuing to open new Argos stores and collection points in many of our Sainsbury’s supermarkets, enabling customers to purchase thousands of technology, home and toy products from Argos while picking up their groceries.”
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This year alone the retailer shut stores in the following locations in total:
- Coventry
- Nottingham
- Lanarkshire
- Birkenhead
- Grimsby
- Scunthorpe
- Hull
- Bridgend
- Newport
- Cardiff Bay
- Norwich
- Swansea
It also closed all of its 34 stores in the Republic of Ireland on June 24.
The full list of stores that closed down in Ireland are:
- 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
The company blamed the closure of the Republic of Ireland stores on the investment required to develop and modernise the Irish part of its business as “not viable”.
By March 2024, Sainsbury’s expects to have 160 standalone stores and between 430 and 460 Argos counters inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets.
The high street has been hit hard in recent years due to the growth of online shopping, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the same time the cost of living has been rising, leading to shoppers cutting back on non-essential spending.
Brick-and-mortar stores have also seen a lack of footfall due to consumer habits switching to online shopping.
Popular chains including M&Co, Paperchase and Wilko closed all stores in 2023.
It’s not just shops either, food and pub chains have also been hit, resulting in brands like Wetherspoons and Frankie & Benny’s closing.
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Although, some chains have managed to defy high street troubles and are actually set to open new shops.
These include discount chains like Poundland which is set to open 15 shops in the coming weeks and Greggs which is aiming to open 150 new sites this year.
