‘Yet another blow’ moan shoppers as major fashion retailer with 350 branches closes store permanently

A MAJOR fashion retailer will close another store this spring in the latest blow on the high street.

TK Maxx confirmed it is closing a town centre shop good after shoppers were left wondering why it abruptly stopped operating weeks ago.

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The popular store has over 350 branches spread across the country, with more than 80 per cent of them located in England.

But it has now announced it will close its Solihull shop, located in the town’s Mell Square.

TK Maxx decided to end the lease on the local store, following a temporary closure for maintenance, a Solihull Council spokesperson said.

At first, the high street chain offered no explanation for its “temporary” shutdown during the week of February 12.

Baskets were left stacked inside, with product recall notifications and complete racks of garments, leaving customers puzzled by the sudden shutdown.

After weeks of silence, local shoppers were left disappointed by the move, taking their frustrations to social media.

A former employee wrote: “I’m devastated to hear that the store has closed.

“I spent a little over seven and a half years working there and made a lot of friends with the staff.

“One of the best places I’ve worked. It definitely won’t be the same without it.”

Another person commented: “What a shame!!! I loved that shop! The Solihull branch was different than other branches.

“I will miss it so much! I hope a decent shop will follow that what we all need and not a bank or restaurant or furniture shop!!! Mini Primark maybe?”

But despite the branch closure, TK Maxx, along with its sister store Homesense, will continue trading from their larger Shirley store at Sears retail park in Solihull.

Confirming the news, a TK Maxx spokesperson told The Sun: “This year TK Maxx is proud to celebrate 30 years on the UK High Street and we continue to invest in communities across the country through new store openings, relocations and modernisation of our existing store network. 

“From time to time we have to make the difficult decision to close a store location when its lease comes to an end as is the case with TK Maxx Mell Square store in Solihull.

“Where we do close a store, we aim to offer all our associates roles in nearby Homesense or TK Maxx stores.

“We thank our loyal Mell Square customers who can still enjoy finding big-brand bargains at our TK Maxx at Sears Retail Park and also find more stores or shop online at tkmaxx.com. “

HIGH STREET CRISIS

Retailers have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.

High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.

The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.

The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.

Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.

It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.

The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is “less bad” than good.

Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.

“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” Prof Bamfield said.

“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”

Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023’s biggest failures included UK Flooring Direct, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.

The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.

However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.

Last year, around 14% of insolvencies were in retail businesses, according to official figures.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk