A MAJOR supermarket is to shut more stores following a string of closures earlier this year.
Iceland has already shut the doors on more than half a dozen shops this year, but more closures are on the way.
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The frozen supermarket chain first started shutting locations in February and a string of closures have followed.
At the moment there are around 500 Iceland branches across the UK.
But the supermarket has announced the closure of a further two stores within months.
The Swansea City Centre store in St David’s Place will close for good on Saturday, July 29.
Its store on Grange Road, next to the Pyramids Shopping Centre in Birkenhead will then close on Saturday, September 16.
Richard Walker, executive chairman of Iceland Foods said: “Across Iceland and The Food Warehouse we have a portfolio of over UK 1,000 stores and our retail estate has grown by nearly 200 stores over the last 10 years.
“We typically open more than 20 new stores each year, creating many new jobs and contributing to the growth of local economies.
“At the same time, we continually review the retail experience offered to our customers and have always made a small number of store closures every year, as local shopping patterns change and shop leases expire.”
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It follows the closures of 11 Iceland supermarkets earlier this year.
The frozen foods chain closed two stores in February in:
- Mill Lane, Bromsgrove
- Chineham Shopping Centre, Basingstoke
It then proceeded to close a further four stores in March in:
Plus, a further three stores in Newport, Berwick and Hexham closed on Saturday, April 22.
Shoppers in Flint, Wales, also lost their local store on May 27.
Iceland’s Beccle branch in Suffolk shut for good on June 17.
It means that by September the total number of Iceland closures this year will hit 13.
Retailers have been feeling the pinch since the pandemic while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to soaring inflation.
High energy costs and a shift to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
A number of well-known retailers including Argos, Lloyds Pharmacy and Poundstretcher have closed stores this month.
And popular chain Cath Kidston, which once boasted hundreds of shops around the world, is set to close its last store this week.
Its remaining Piccadilly branch in London will close for good on Wednesday, June 28.
If you want to know more about store closures, you can read our full list of high street chains closing for good this year.
