SHOPPERS are devastated after a popular high street bakery chain closed its doors for the final time.
Patisserie Valerie has abruptly closed its café in Nottingham city centre.
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The café giant, which once had 200 stores across the UK employing around 3,000 staff, has seen 170 of its branches shut already.
The loss of Patisserie Valerie, which has had its place in Exchange Arcade since 2012, is another big blow to Nottingham’s high street.
Sad shoppers were greeted with a handwritten note on the front door which said: “This store is now permanently closed.”
Inside the café is now dark, with all exterior seating and signage moved inside.
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Customers took to social media to share their frustrations at the store’s closure.
“Nottingham is becoming one awful ghost city,” cried one shopper.
Another added: “So sad.
“Another one gone.”
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While a third wrote: “This was one of my fav places.”
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Patisserie Valerie became the UK’s most popular café chain after first opening its store in London in 1926.
However, the bakery giant went into administration in 2019 which led to the closure of around 70 stores and the loss of more than 900 jobs.
Now just 28 stores remain with most of them located in cities and some large towns.
It has concessions inside around 400 Sainsbury’s stores where customers can buy its 14 most popular cakes, according to its website.
It has cafés in London, with several others in the South East including in Winchester and Basingstoke.
Further north, there are branches in York, Leeds, Chester and Durham.
You can find your nearest Patisserie Valerie using the map tool on its website – the blue icons indicate a restaurant, while the orange icons show Sainsbury’s stores that sell its cakes.
What other stores have we lost?
The last 12 months have seen several major retailers shut a lot of their branches across the UK.
Wilko and stationary brand Paperchase both fell into administration and around 120,000 people working in the UK saw their job cut in 2023, according to figures from the Centre for Retail Research.
More recently, the health and beauty chain, The Body Shop also fell into administration with scores of shops closing.
Around 500 staff are expected to lose their jobs with 75 stores earmarked for closure.
Boots made headlines when it announced its plan to get rid of 300 locations as part of their scheme.
Just this month the major health retailer shut nine of its sites.
These closures will see the retailer’s total shops reduced from 2,200 to 1,900.
However, it has left locals in affected towns upset with many now having to travel further for an alternative store.
Patisserie Valerie is not the only high street bakery to struggle as Le Pain Quotidien shut nine of its ten locations last year.
This left 250 members of its staff out of work.
And Warrens Bakery, which claims to be the oldest bakery chain in Cornwall, announced it would close two sites immediately.
But it’s not all bad news for bakery chains and other retailers, including Patisserie Valerie.
Last year, The Sun exclusively revealed the chain was set to open two new branches.
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Several other retailers and eateries are expanding in the UK too.
Huge discount retailer Costco is planning to open 14 new warehouses around the UK in the next two years.
Retailers closing stores in 2024
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 are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
Here’s a list of all the big-name brands closing stores this year:
- Argos – The brand announced plans to close 100 standalone UK branches last year as it looks to move away from the high street and focus on expanding its presence in supermarkets.
- B&Q – The chain has over 300 shops across the UK, so chances are you have one near you, but some stores have closed in recent months.
- Boots – The health and beauty chain announced that it would be closing 300 stores last July. Closures are ongoing and this will see the retailer’s estate reduced from 2,200 to 1,900 shops.
- Clintons – Clintons mulled plans to close 38 shops in a bid to avoid insolvency late last year. We’ve listed the stores affected.
- Costa Coffee – The caffeine giant has around 2,000 sites nationwide, so chances are you’ll have one near you. The chain has shut the doors to dozens of its sites recently. We’ve revealed which stores are due to close this year.
- Iceland – The supermarket has more than 900 stores but closed nearly two dozen sites in 2023, and more selected shops are due to shut.
- Lidl – The supermarket, which has 950 stores, is changing up shop locations, which has meant that some stores have to close. But the retailer is also looking to open 12 new supermarkets.
- M&S – M&S, which runs 405 stores across the country, has been closing a string of branches across the country in a blow for shoppers. It’s not all bad news, though, because the chain also has big plans to open dozens of new shops as well.
- Trespass – The firm announced in July last year that it was closing six branches, but more are on the way.
- WHSmith – The retail giant, which runs over 1,100 stores, has shuttered eight stores since March 2023, but more are coming
