A MAJOR retailer is closing a handful of stores across the UK as the high street continues to struggle.
H&M has closed branches in recent months, with more to follow this year.
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H&M has confirmed to The Sun that two branches in Hartlepool and Isle of Wight are set to close.
It hasn’t given a date for when they will shut the doors for good or if workers are at risk of redundancy.
It comes just days after the high street shop shuttered its branch in Burton and another in Maidenhead.
A spokesperson for H&M UK & Ireland said: “During the last few years, we have seen a rapid change in customer behaviour that we cannot ignore.
“We continuously need to evaluate and develop our business to meet our customers’ needs and offer the best possible shopping experience, whether it’s online or in our physical stores.
“This means that we sometimes need to close stores.”
It follows the revelation in November that the fashion chain had closed one in five stores in the UK.
At the time, the move left H&M with 192 stores across the UK after closing 56 locations.
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H&M declined to say if further stores have been earmarked for closure too.
It comes as the Sweden-based retailer today reported a 68% drop in net profits for the year ending November 30, 2022.
H&M also saw a surprise loss in the fourth quarter as it closed branches in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine and faced soaring production costs.
Overall, H&M Group which also includes COS, Monki and Weekday, shut 336 stores worldwide, including 175 in Russia and Belarus.
The group operates 4,664 stores in 77 countries and employs 155,000 staff around the world.
It’s the world’s second-largest fashion retailer after Zara.
Other struggling retailers
The H&M news comes as Argos last week announced it’ll close all stores in Ireland in June.
Its owner Sainsbury’s also revealed that Lloyd’s Pharmacy is withdrawing its services from over 200 Sainsbury’s stores.
Meanwhile, stationery chain Paperchase has said it’s in talks with potential buyers after lining up administrators.
Major burger chain Byron Burger also recently fell into administration and is set to close nine restaurants immediately.
The owners of the chain have said the closures will result in the loss of 218 jobs.
Fashion company M&Co announced its collapse last year after losing the same battle “many retailers” have been fighting.
Wellies store Joules went under as well.
In December, pub chain Wetherspoons announced it would be closing a total of 39 pubs after being hit by soaring inflation.
Here, The Sun has put together a full list of retailers that closed last year.
