‘Timeless' furniture, carpet & sofa brand to shut down in UK after 120 years as it launches ‘everything must go' sale

The Sun

01-08-2025

IT'S the final curtain call for a family-run furniture store that has been in business for 120 years.
To mark the end of an era, Sturtons & Tappers has launched a huge 'everything must go' sale.
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The renowned retailer is famous in Bournemouth for its timeless sofas, bespoke furniture, luxurious carpets, dining sets, lighting, and home accessories.
For generations, Sturtons & Tappers has proudly furnished thousands of homes across the region – and now, it's all got to go!
Director David, who has helped steer the shop's legacy, said it's a 'bittersweet moment'.
"We've had the privilege of furnishing thousands of homes across generations, and while we're excited for the next chapter, we're incredibly grateful to all our loyal customers.
"This sale is our way of saying thank you."
He and Pauline Scott, as well as other colleagues, are looking forward to step into a "well-earned" retirement.
With 'unprecedented discounts' now slashed across every inch of the store, a spokesperson warned: 'This is the public's last chance to snap up premium home furnishings at never-to-be-repeated prices.'
In April 2025, independent retailers were delivered a fierce blow after employer National Insurance surged to 15 percent.
The National Living Wage also rose to £12.21 an hour and business-rates relief dropped from 75 percent to 40 percent.
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For millions of small businesses across the country, the changes were crippling.
A massive drop in footfall on high streets has also taken a toll on shops across the UK.
Around 26 percent of all shopping now takes place online, up sharply from pre-pandemic levels.
To make things worse, bans on free parking and more expensive town centre fees are doing no favours to local shops.
Rents, energy bills and card processing fees are another hurdle, with some paying 3 to 5 percent on card fees alone.
In 2024, around 13,470 stores closed - a sharp 28 percent jump from 2023.
A staggering 84 percent of those were independently run shops.
It's not just smaller shops that are struggling.
From well-known budget favourites like Poundland to popular fashion brands such as New Look and Monki, a raft of familiar names are set to disappear.
The cost of running shops, from soaring energy bills to higher National Insurance, is pushing retailers to cut back.
At the same time, more shoppers are going online, and with the cost-of-living crisis biting, people have less cash to spend.
The result? Shops are closing, and high streets are starting to suffer.
If you want to know which stores are shutting soon, we've got the full list right here.
Apple
Apple will close its two-floor Bristol city centre store in Cabot Circus on August 9, 2025 after 15 years.
The closure comes as part of a redevelopment plan for Cabot Circus, which will replace the store with new flexible workspaces and public areas.
GAME
GAME is closing several UK stores this summer as part of a wider restructuring by parent company Frasers Group.
Upcoming closures include Festival Place in Basingstoke on August 10, Southend High Street later in August, and Chatham in September.
The Nottingham Victoria Centre store closed in July.
Stores are running 20% off clearance sales ahead of closure.
Hobbycraft
As part of a major restructuring, arts and crafts retailer Hobbycraft will close three stores in early August 2025.
The affected locations are Bromborough, Southport, and Stratford Upon Avon.
The closures follow a strategic review aimed at reshaping
the business.
Monki
Monki, owned by H&M, is closing its Glasgow store in Buchanan Galleries in August.
The retailer has already shuttered branches in Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Sheffield, and London earlier this year.
The online store has also closed, with the brand being integrated into H&M's Weekday line.
One remaining Monki store in Bristol remains open but will either close later this year or be transformed into a new concept.
New Look
New Look is continuing its wave of store closures, with a branch in Neath, Wales, set to close imminently on August 6, 2025.
This follows a string of 11 closures already this year, including sites in Hamilton, Birmingham, Corby, Devizes, and others across England, Scotland, and Wales.
The high street stalwart has warned that nearly 100 of its 364 UK stores could be at risk when leases expire, amid ongoing cost pressures such as the National Insurance hikes earlier this year.
The retailer recently secured £30million in fresh equity investment to bolster its online operations and completed a £100million refinancing deal in 2023.
Last year, New Look reported sales of £769million.
Poundland
Poundland is closing 26 stores in August 2025 as part of a wider restructuring plan following its £1 sale to Gordon Brothers earlier this year.
Closing August 1:
Newquay
Closing 10 August:
Ammanford
Birmingham Fort
Cardiff Valegate
Cramlington
Leicester
Long Eaton
Port Glasgow
Seaham
Shrewsbury
Tunbridge Wells
Closing August 17:
Bedford
Bidston Moss
Broxburn
Craigavon
Dartmouth
East Dulwich
Falmouth
Hull St Andrews
Newtonabbey
Perth
Poole
Sunderland
Stafford
Thornaby
Worcester
In addition, the Whiteley store in Fareham closed unexpectedly on July 21 2025, outside the announced closures.
Whitby will close on September 3.
Poundland is trimming its estate from nearly 800 stores to between 650 and 700 locations.
The company is removing frozen foods, ending online sales, and
expanding womenswear and seasonal lines.
Managing director Barry Williams called the closures regrettable but necessary to secure thousands of jobs and hundreds of stores.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025."
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
"By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."