Major charity shop chain launches £1 closing down sale ahead of shutting popular branch in HOURS
A MAJOR charity shop chain has launched a major £1 closing-down sale as it gears up to close its doors for the final time.
Scope, which runs shops across England and Wales, is shuttering its location in Burton upon Trent later today.
1
"Last chance to grab a bargain before we close on Friday," the retailer wrote on Facebook.
"Thank you for all your support and custom."
This is the full list of stores which have closed and are set to shutter in the coming days:
Blyth - May 10
Hove, George Street - May 17
Erdington - May 24
West Hampstead, London - May 24
Exmouth - May 31
Bury - May 31
The six closures come after Scope shut 22 branches in March and April following a consultation process earlier this year.
This is on top of six sites which shut due to their leases ending.
The four stores that closed in April as part of the consultation period were in Newport, Southampton, Atherstone and Welling.
Meanwhile, these are the 18 stores that closed in March as part of the consultation:
Amersham
Barking
Bangor
Birkenhead
Bishop Auckland
Castleford
Devizes
Dewsbury
Eastbourne
Haywards Heath
Lewisham
New Milton
Orpington
Parkstone
Scunthorpe
Shirley (Southampton)
Skipton
Workington
Scope said a further 35 branches will shut, on top of the May closures, bringing the total number of closures to 70.
It has also confirmed that another five shops are set to be shut later this year, with a possible further two as well. Bringing the total number of closures to 77.
The locations of these stores or their closure dates are yet to be revealed.
Debbie Boylen, head of retail at Scope, said: "We know our teams put in their very best efforts, but our shops are collectively now losing money when taking account of all of their costs.
"A number make strong profits but there are loss making shops too.
'We never take the decision to close our stores lightly."
Scope first launched the consultation to close dozens of its stores in January due to declining footfall and spiralling costs.
Chief executive Mark Hodgkinson said the charity 's retail arm had made a 'real contribution to raising vital income', but that external factors had 'made trading harder'.
He added: "This situation isn't confined to Scope. All retailers have been hit with a greater shift to online shopping.
Despite its challenges at high street branches, Scope's online sales have boomed in recent years.
It saw online sales increase by 75% in 2023/24, up £1.2million on the year before.
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."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
European game generated 38 bln euros in 2023-24 season, study shows
June 11 (Reuters) - Europe's soccer market grew by 8% in terms of revenue in the 2023-24 season to 38 billion euros ($43.46 billion) with England's Premier League generating the most, Deloitte said in a study published on Wednesday. In its Annual Review of Football Finance, Deloitte said the top five leagues -- Premier League, Bundesliga, LaLiga, Serie A and Ligue 1 -- generated 20.4 billion euros in revenue, an increase of 4%. Premier League clubs had the highest revenue of Europe's top leagues at 6.3 billion pounds ($8.50 billion). However, the traditional 'big six' clubs in England's top flight reported lower average revenue growth (3%) than other clubs that were in the Premier League in both the 2023-24 and 2022-23 seasons (11%). The study said the growth was largely driven by expansion of clubs' commercial offerings, which also led to the teams cumulatively generating more than two billion pounds in commercial revenue for the first time. "A focus on stadia development and diversification of commercial revenues led to growth across the European football market in the 2023-24 season," Tim Bridge, lead partner in Deloitte's Sports Business Group, said. "However, clubs and leagues cannot afford to take their eye off the ball as new challenges, including an evolving regulatory landscape and changing fan behaviours, arise. "The pressure is mounting for more clubs to drive additional revenue at the same time as managing rising costs. "More so than ever, leaders and owners must recognise the great responsibility they have of managing these businesses, capturing the historic essence of a football club while honouring its unrivalled role as a community asset for generations to come." Clubs in Europe's 'big five' leagues reported an aggregate operating profit (0.6 billion euros) for a second successive season, while the aggregate wages/revenue ratio fell from 66% to 64%. Clubs in England's Women's Super League (WSL) jointly generated revenue of 65 million pounds in the 2023-24 season, a 34% rise. Each WSL club had a double-digit increase in revenue, while all 12 clubs reported over one million pounds in revenue for the first time, with an average revenue of 5.4 million pounds. "Through developing more robust fan engagement strategies, strong commercial deals and securing central distributions, WSL clubs unlocked a new phase of growth," Deloitte Sports Business group's knowledge and insights lead Jennifer Haskel said. "Plus, as the reporting and attribution of commercial revenue remains inconsistent between clubs, we may be scratching the surface on the value now being generated by the women's game." ($1 = 0.7409 pounds) ($1 = 0.8743 euros)
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Housing market outlook ‘more optimistic' for year ahead
Property professionals' expectations for future sales are becoming more upbeat, although the housing market remains subdued, according to surveyors. Looking ahead, a net balance of 25% of professionals expect the number of house sales to increase over the next year, marking the strongest reading since February, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said. But its May survey also found that 26% of professionals reported seeing new buyer inquiries falling rather than rising, marking the fifth month in a row of decreases. The figure is slightly less downbeat than seen in March and April, Rics said. A net balance of 28% of professionals reported seeing the number of sales agreed falling. Sales volumes are generally expected to flatten out rather than fall in the three months ahead, the survey indicated. House prices also appeared to be broadly flat, with a net balance of 8% of professionals reporting seeing prices fall rather than rise in May, which was slightly more than the balance of 3% who reported seeing this in April. Over the next year, a balance of 34% of property professionals expect house prices to increase. There were also signs of more choice for buyers. A net balance of 7% of surveyors saw a rise in new listings, marking the eleventh month of growth in a row. Valuation activity also picked up, with 19% noting an increase in appraisals compared with a year ago, indicating a potentially more active summer market. In the lettings sector, tenant demand strengthened in May, while instructions from landlords continued to dwindle. As a result, rents are expected to rise further in the near-term, the report said. Rics chief economist, Simon Rubinsohn, said the Government's affordable housing commitments 'should provide greater certainty and support more strategic delivery'. Rics senior economist, Tarrant Parsons, said: 'Sentiment across the UK residential property market remains somewhat subdued, with ongoing uncertainty around global trade policies and the dampening effect of transactions being brought forward ahead of the stamp duty changes at the end of March continuing to weigh on buyer activity. 'However, near-term sales expectations are showing signs of stabilisation, suggesting that while muted conditions may persist in the short-term, a further deterioration appears unlikely. Looking ahead, the outlook is more optimistic, with respondents anticipating a gradual recovery in sales activity over the next 12 months. 'That said, the pace and extent of any improvement will partly depend on the Bank of England's ability to continue cutting interest rates.'
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Council tax to soar by 5% for three years, Reeves reveals - as average home's council tax bill will increase by £359 by 2029
The average home's council tax bill will increase by £359 by 2029, the Spending Review revealed. Ministers are working on the basis that councils will increase the rate by 5 per cent a year for the next three years. The rise will fund the settlement for local authorities, which includes social care – an issue on which Labour is yet to outline its policy. It also assumes that the police precept – the portion of council tax that goes directly to forces – will have to rise. Asked about the increase, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: 'The previous government increased council tax by 5 per cent a year, and we have stuck to that. 'We won't be going above that. That is the council tax policy that we inherited from the previous government, and that we will be continuing. 'Of course, that money goes into those local public services, including social care, and in case of the police precept, it goes into our local policing.' Figures show that council tax for the average Band D home will increase by £359 over the next three years. Kevin Hollinrake, Tory communities spokesman, said: 'Rachel Reeves claimed council tax wouldn't have to go up to afford her spending spree, but this tax bombshell shows that you can't trust a word she says. 'Because of Labour's profligate spending plans today, tax and borrowing increases in the autumn are now inevitable. 'This tax double-whammy is just rubbing salt in the wounds, and means hundreds of pounds less in take-home pay for hard-working people.' Despite the increase, local government representatives said there would still not be enough cash to fund services and warned of further cuts.
