Mystery as British high street giant suddenly shuts doors to popular seaside branch with NO explanation

The Sun

17 hours ago

AN ICONIC high street store has suddenly shut for good in a popular seaside branch.
Shoppers, were shocked to find the doors locked and a notice posted on its shop door announcing its closure.
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Closed down
FatFace, on Old Christchurch Road, in Bournemouth closed its doors on July 19.
A sign posted on the doors read: "Thank you for shopping in our Bournemouth store.
"This store is now closed. Find us at FatFace.com".
A QR code also takes smartphone users to its website but offers no additional detail of the closure.
A chalkboard put inside the shop, blocking the doors, says "thank you for shopping with us!" and features drawings and hearts.
Products are still on the shelves and hung on stands inside reports The BournemouthEcho
The closure comes after the business announced it would be shutting its Peterborough branch on June 15,
The closure came 20 months after FatFace, which was founded in 1988, was acquired by the leading clothing retailer Next, headquartered in Leicester.
The announcement for the Peterborough branch was made a few weeks prior to its final day.
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Sharing the news on the We Love Peterborough Facebook group, shoppers were dismayed at the closure.
One said: "I have to say it's shame to see that Fat Face will be closing down in Queensgate.
"After speaking with someone in the store for confirmation, I'm afraid that they are not moving to an alternative location either, they are closing permanently for us."
FatFace announced a pre-tax loss of £3.2 million last October, which was in part attributed to costs related to the acquisition.
Why are retailers closing stores?
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.
However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
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."
It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024.
End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker.
It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date.
This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023.
It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns.
The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker.
Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations.
Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes.
Professor Bamfield has 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."
FatFace responds
A FatFace spokesperson said: 'We can confirm our Bournemouth store closed on July 19.
"We're focusing on supporting our store colleagues at this time and, where possible, looking at redeployment opportunities.
"We'd like to thank all customers who have shopped with us for their support over the years'.
No reason was given for the Bournemouth closure and a similar message was given for the Peterborough closure.
A FatFace spokesperson told The Sun at the time: ' We can confirm our Queensgate Shopping Centre store in Peterborough will be closing, with the last day of trade on 15th June 2025.
"We're focusing on supporting our store colleagues at this time and, where possible, looking at redeployment opportunities.
"We'd like to thank all customers who have shopped with us for their support over the years'.