Scottish city's last ever Iceland to shut for good as company axes more stores
THE LAST remaining Iceland store in a Scottish city is set to shut for good in weeks, leaving shoppers gutted.
The frozen food firm has over 900 stores across the UK, and bosses announced that two would close over the summer.
1
Bosses at Iceland revealed that two UK branches would be closing in July
Credit: Alamy
This included one shop in Inverness, in the Highlands, and the other in Margate, Kent.
The Scottish branch, located in the city's Rose Street Retail Park, will pull the shutters down for the final time on Saturday, July 12.
The store down south will then close just over a week later on Monday, July 21.
Despite the retailer having hundreds of shops across the country, the Rose Street branch is the only one in Inverness.
It is situated near Home Bargains, Starbucks and Smyths Toy Shop.
Instead, shoppers will have to visit The Food Warehouse, which is owned by Iceland Foods and is located a six-minute drive away on Telford Street.
That's a shame, that is a very handy wee store for people in town and to the east of Inverness
Shopper on social media
The branch is a larger warehouse-style store which opened in November 2022.
There is also a Food Warehouse branch in Elgin; however, the next-nearest Iceland shop is in Inverurie.
This would mean that locals would be forced to drive for over two hours to get to the closest Iceland shop that wasn't a Food Warehouse.
In a statement, Iceland previously said that staff at the Inverness and Kent sites have entered a "consultation process and will be offered opportunities at surrounding stores where possible".
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The reason for the supermarket's shock closure is currently unknown.
However, locals were left gutted by the news, and many have flocked to social media to share their disappointment.
One person said: "Shame, Iceland is in such a good location, not everyone can get to Telford Street."
Another added: "Inverness is becoming a tourist city. We who live here don't count".
Someone else wrote: "That's a shame, that is a very handy wee store for people in town and to the east of Inverness".
And a fourth posted: "With the appalling reputation that the car park has earned itself, this is of no surprise and sadly, other closures in this part of town may follow."
While a fifth chimed in: "Parking is a huge issue for me at that retail park and I avoid it like the plague. It's sad because the shops there I used to visit regularly."
A spokesperson for Iceland previously said: 'We can confirm our Iceland store located at Rose Street, Inverness, is scheduled to close on 12th July 2025.
'Our store colleagues will enter into a consultation process and will be offered opportunities at surrounding stores where possible.
'Shoppers can visit our local Food Warehouse store in Inverness, located on Telford Street.'
The latest closures mean Iceland has shut more than 20 stores since the start of 2023.
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