Major retailer with 240 branches closing store within days as shoppers cry ‘not another one’

CUSTOMERS have cried “not another one” as a major high street retailer with 240 branches gears up to close a site in just days.

Game is pulling down the shutters on its branch in Commercial Street, Newport, Wales, on October 18.

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But the store is relocating and will reopen inside the Sports Direct unit on the corner of the same street just two days later.

Store manager Sam Weldon told The South Wales Argus, which first reported the closure: “We are closing due to rent.

“Other Game stores have moved inside House of Fraser or Sports Direct.

“So, we will be relocating inside Sports Direct two days after closing.”

Shoppers have shared their devastation at the store relocation, which will leave another unit in Newport city centre empty.

One said: “Not another one,” while a second said: “There’s going to be no shops left at this rate.”

Meanwhile, a third sorrowful shopper added: “So sad, another one bites the dust.”

Game was bought out by business tycoon Mike Ashley’s then Sports Direct in June 2019 as part of a £52million deal.

But by January 2020 it had announced plans to close 40 of its more than 300 stores across the UK.

Today, there are over 240 Game stores nationwide. You can find your nearest by using the store locator on its website.

In June this year, closure signs were seen in the windows of a Game branch in Braehead, Scotland, as it geared up to relocate to a nearby Sports Direct unit.

It comes as Sports Direct, part of Mike Ashley’s now-named Frasers Group, relocates two stores this autumn in Norwich and Newcastle.

House of Fraser has closed four stores this year too, including in Cardiff and Solihull.

A number of other retailers have been closing branches across the UK in 2023.

The high street has been suffering as consumers increasingly turn to online retail and away from physical branches.

High inflation since 2022 has seen households’ budgets squeezed too meaning they’ve got less expendable cash.

That, combined with high energy and wage costs, has seen a number of businesses forced to close stores.

In July, Boots Pharmacy said it would be closing 300 branches as part of plans to consolidate its portfolio.

Meanwhile, a number of retailers have crashed into administration including Cath Kidston, Paperchase and M&Co.

It’s not just retailers closing locations either – a number of high street banks and building societies have been shutting branches in the UK.

A lot of bankers can do the majority of tasks online now and have less need to visit a physical site.

But it’s not all bad news as a number of retailers have been expanding despite a hostile economic backdrop.

Supermarket chain Iceland has been opening stores, with some under the Iceland Local brand.

Primark, Poundland and B&M have all been growing their portfolios too.

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This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk