SHOPPERS are devasted at the potential loss of a popular Marks and Spencer store.
The retailer has announced a proposal to close its Redhill store in Surrey.
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The store is located in the Belfry Shopping Centre in Redhill and locals say that closing the store would “kill the town”.
Reacting to the news on social media, one person said: “It would be sad as they do good business.”
Another added: “Oh no this is bad news!”
While a third commented: “Noooo. It would kill the town. Literally.”
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The store and its staff have been rated four stars on Google reviews with many saying how “friendly” the shop is.
The Belfry Shopping Centre has also posted a statement about the announcement on its website.
It said: “The Belfry is surprised at the timing of this announcement” and added that the centre has been enjoying increased footfall in the centre.
Oh no this is bad news
Social media user
It said with its remaining long lease and reported positive trading it had hoped that Redhill would avoid closure.
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Shopping centre manager, Andy Nash, said: “We are obviously sad to hear that M&S has made the decision to start the consultation to close their Redhill store.
He added that though it would be disappointing to lose M&S the bigger picture for the centre remains positive.
He said: “Whilst we await clarity from M&S about the future of their Redhill store, we will ensure that we keep everyone up-to-date with announcements via our website and social media channels.
All the chains we’ve loved and lost in recent years
Marks and Spencer first announced plans to close some of its “lower productivity” stores in 2022 as part of a five-year plan to shake up its branch portfolio.
The retailer which runs 405 stores across the country, shut down locations in Manchester, Swindon and Birmingham between August and November last year.
In addition to this, 40 M&S clothing stores closed between November 2016 and July 2023.
Just recently it announced the closure of its Walworth store in South London, and its home store in Kingditch Trading Estate in Tewkesbury, Cheltenham.
If you want to know if your local might be next, we have the full list of M&S stores that are marked for closure in 2024.
However, it is not all bad news for the retailer, or shoppers as in January 2023, it announced it would open 20 more stores over the financial year.
At the same time, it said it’s opening 104 new “bigger and fresher” food stores.
In the last 12 months, it has opened 22 sites including in Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester.
Marks and Spencer is not the only retailer shaking things up in a bid to survive the ongoing difficult retail climate.
What else is happening on the high street
Other retailers have been slimming down their number of high street branches, such as Iceland, Boots and Matalan.
A combination of rising rents, energy bills and the cost of living has meant that many retailers have been unable to survive.
Several big retailers have fallen into administration in the past year including Wilko, Paperchase, and most recently The Body Shop.
The Body Shop collapsed into administration on February 13, putting its almost 198 branches at risk of closure.
Since then it has closed down 42 locations and announced that a further 21 branches will also close.
It is not only shops that are disappearing from our town centres, big banks are shutting up shop too.
As more customers move to online banking there is no need for some high street branches, and some just are no longer getting the footfall to justify premises being open.
Lloyds, Barclays and RBS are among those closing down premises.
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We have the full list of bank branches due to close next week.
If you are wondering if your local town might be affected by closures you can check out our full list of high street shops and supermarkets closing forever in May.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is “less bad” than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” Prof Bamfield said.
“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023’s biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
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