LOCALS have shared fears their area is transforming into a “ghost town” after a major high street retailer confirmed it is closing a store.
Sports Direct is shuttering its branch in the Central Six Retail Park, Coventry, tomorrow (January 21).
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The site will reportedly reopen as an Iceland Food Warehouse, although a date for when has not yet been revealed.
Meanwhile, Sports Direct has plans to open a new store in the city centre.
Locals have shared major fears for their city following the latest Sports Direct closure.
It comes after Oak Furnitureland shut its showroom in the Central Six Retail Park on December 1.
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Clintons, Boots and Argos have all announced plans to close stores for good in Coventry this year as well, the Coventry Telegraph reports.
One resident said: “Coventry became a ghost town in the Thatcher years and it’s never recovered.”
Another said: “Been a ghost town for years,” while a third added: “Nothing to go into town for.”
It comes after the Frasers Group, which owns Sports Direct, confirmed to The Sun its branch in Swindon would closing in early 2024.
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The retailer, owned by Mike Ashley’s, also launched a giant closing down sale before shutting a Sports Direct branch in Blackpool in November.
Meanwhile, Sports Direct Fitness shut its Salisbury site for good on December 11 to the shock of members.
Game, also owned by the Frasers Group, will have shuttered three branches in Exeter, Witney and Huntingdon by the end of January.
And in October, House of Fraser confirmed it will close its branch in Lakeside Shopping Centre, Grays, this month.
It closed three stores in 2023, including in Cardiff, Guildford and Birmingham.
Why are retailers closing branches?
Recent figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed over 10,000 shops closed for the final time in 2023, while 120,000 retail staff lost their jobs.
The high street has been hit hard as shoppers turn to online retail, while high inflation last year saw households turn more spend-thrift.
That, combined with high wage and energy costs for businesses, saw many forced to close stores.
In June last year, Boots announced it would be consolidating its portfolio of stores from 2,200 to 1,900.
It said it would close stores in areas where there was more than one branch.
Meanwhile, retailer giant Wilko fell into administration, which saw thousands of staff lose their jobs and hundreds of branches close.
But it’s not all bad news for the retail sector, as Poundland has been expanding its store portfolio in recent months, as has B&M.
Wilko has since relaunched online and some of its physical branches have reopened to the public as well.
Meanwhile, Frasers Group has started opening new “concept stores” as it looks to shake up its portfolio.
The first one of this kind, featuring popular brands like Sports Direct and Game, opened in Norwich in September.
Two others have opened in Blackpool and Sheffield in recent months.
The Frasers Group also recently snapped up luxury clothing retailer Matches Fashion in a deal worth £52million.
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Meanwhile, designer clothing chain Choice, bought by The Frasers Group last year, recently pulled the shutters down on its Bromley site but replaced it with a Flannels.
Tessuti, another brand it snapped up, has also closed several stores in the past year, but its Burnley location has since reopened as a Flannels.
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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
