Latest news with #BPrice
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Dudley's ongoing challenges blamed for shop closure
A woman who is closing her shop in Dudley says there has been one challenge after another for businesses in the Books and Bits, a family run gift and collectibles store, is to end its bricks and mortar presence in Dudley after five years, switching to online trading Cronin opened the shop in Churchill Shopping Centre the day before the first Covid lockdown in March 2020, but despite coming through that setback, said the business could not survive on the high street any pointed to ongoing works on the Metro Extension and Dudley Interchange, as well as parking charges being introduced by Dudley Council. The authority said help was on the way. Patrick Harley, leader of the Conservative-run council, said the new Dudley Ice Rink was one of the ways footfall would return. A planning application is expected to be submitted in coming that may not be soon enough for businesses which say they are feeling the pinch of difficult trading business B D Price in the Sedgley area of Dudley borough, which sells toys and bikes, has also announced it will close its to Ms Cronin, such an experience can be emotional. "I've cried on numerous occasions over the last couple of weeks because you feel like you've failed and nobody cares," she said."We were doing really well and then the bus station shut [in 2024] and custom fell drastically."Then parking charges came in and it felt like one thing after another."Ms Cronin, who runs the business with husband Marc, said: "I'm excited about the improvements that are coming and when they finish it will be excellent."But I'd like the council to put the time and effort into what we've already got." Harley said he would make "a series of announcements" in the summer which would help high streets."We have had to unturn every stone we possibly can in order to stabilise this borough's finances," he said."We've done that far quicker than we anticipated. We now have money in our reserves and as we move forward we want to help small businesses as much as we can."There is an unprecedented amount of regeneration work going on in Dudley at the moment and I know that is unbalancing for a lot of businesses, but once that work is complete we will have plenty more footfall."The tram, the bus interchange and the 3,000 capacity ice rink will increase footfall." Shoppers in Dudley have lamented the loss of big name brands, including the closure of Holland and Barrett last O'Sullivan said: "When I was a kid it was booming in Dudley. Now you only see places to let, it's a crying shame."I shop in Bilston because there's free parking there."Another shopper, who did not wish to be named, called Dudley a "ghost town"."I don't understand the renovations with the tram because there's nothing here," she said."All the money they've spent on it they could've spent on renovations for Dudley instead."We've got the Black Country museum and Dudley Zoo which is amazing but other than that, we've got nothing." Sonia Kumar, Dudley's Labour MP, said high streets were the area's "backbone"."There are powers from central government to get these empty shops back open because they have been closed for too long," she said. "This will help us to take back control of our high streets." Follow BBC Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Sun
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Big chain with over 200 shops to close branch within hours after big sale
A HUGE chain with more than 200 stores is set to close a popular branch within hours after its big sale. Warren James announced that its shop on the Andover outlet in the Chantry Centre will close for good tomorrow. 1 The closure is reportedly due to the branch's lease expiring. However, the chain has yet to explain why the popular store is closing down. Despite the closure announcement, shoppers were given one last chance to bag a bargain sparkle. Local council bosses have revealed that they're already looking to re-let the space. A spokesperson for Test Valley Borough Council, which owns and runs the shopping centre, admitted it was 'a shame' to see Warren James go, but insisted new tenants are always in the pipeline. They added that the centre has remained lively thanks to flexible leases, grants for independents and a mix of tenants keeping vacancy rates below the national average. Struggling with rising costs and reduced footfall over the past few years. Dozens of shops are set to close across the country before the end of the month in the latest blow to UK high streets. One of these includes Smiggle, known for its colourful, quirky pens, lunchboxes and school bags, which revealed it is shutting up shop at the Darwin Centre in Shrewsbury. Why are shops closing stores? Meanwhile, family business B.D Price, a beloved toy and bike store in Dudley, West Midlands, announced its closure after 160 years. Rising living costs, leaving shoppers with less cash to spend, and an increase in online shopping have battered retailers in recent years. In some cases, landlords are either unwilling or unable to invest in keeping shops open, further speeding up the closures. It comes after a huge fashion store with 250 branches across the UK is closing another branch. And a popular dessert chain with 30 locations has been forced to close shop after just six months. 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."
