SHOPPERS were left queuing “for hours” after a major retailer with 250 branches launched a giant 70% off sale before closing a store.
It comes after the fashion chain closed a branch in London earlier this month, leaving customers in shock.
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Matalan has pulled down the shutters on its clearance store in Church Gate, Leicester, with workers offered alternative roles across the business.
Shoppers’ next nearest branches are in Haymarket, Leicester, less than a mile away and Beaumont Leys in the city, under three miles away.
A spokesperson for Matalan said: “We can confirm that our Leicester Clearance store closed on January 20.
“We worked closely with all those colleagues affected and offered them alternative positions in our local store network.”
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They added: “We would like to thank all of our customers in the local community for shopping with us.”
It came after the clearance store in Church Gate launched a huge 70% off sale ahead of closing for good.
Shoppers were quick to post on the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK Facebook group to report long waiting times to get into the store.
One said: “The queues are for hours. When I went on (sic) the weekend they did have to close it down as queues were getting bigger.”
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Another said: “Ye I waited two hours.”
Others posted on the Facebook group signalling the bargains to fellow savvy savers.
One, tagging a friend, said “we need to go,” while another added “lets go to Leicester”.
It comes after Matalan closed two branches since last September.
The fashion retailer, which opened its first store in Preston, Lancashire, in 1985, shut its branch in Leytonstone, London, this month after two decades in business.
Meanwhile, shoppers in Renfrew, near Glasgow, were left devastated in September after the Blythswood Retail Park store closed.
The branch launched a 30% off everything sale before shutting for good on September 30.
Plus, Matalan is set to shut a branch in Leeds, Yorkshire, on February 24, according to local news reports.
Why are retailers closing stores?
Retailers have been hit hard in recent years as shoppers increasingly turn their attentions to online retail.
Soaring inflation has hit households’ budgets as well, meaning less expendable cash to spend dining out and at retailers.
Businesses have been contending with high energy and wage costs too. All things combined, many have been forced to shut up shop.
Recent figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed over 10,000 shops closed for the last time in 2023, and almost 120,000 jobs were lost across the sector.
Some businesses went bust completely too, including retail giant Wilko in August last year.
Paperchase also went into administration at the start of 2023, putting over 100 stores at risk.
But it’s not been all bad news – some retailers have announced plans to grow store portfolios.
B&M, which currently runs over 650 UK stores, recently announced plans to open 17 more across January and February.
Asda also plans to open 21 new locations before the end of the month as well.
The retailer said it wants to have 1,000 stores running across the UK and Northern Ireland by March this year.
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Meanwhile, Lidl confirmed in April last year it wanted to open hundreds of locations as part of its expansion plans.
Plus, Wilko has since relaunched on the high street and Paperchase has opened concession shops in Tesco superstores.
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