Latest news with #retailcrisis
The Sun
28-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Full list of nine chains closing shops on the high street in August – is your local at risk?
THIS August, the UK high street faces another wave of store closures, hitting shoppers and communities hard. 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. 1 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. BrewDog to close TEN pubs across UK as staff set to be axed 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. River Island River Island is facing serious financial trouble and could run out of money by August 2025 if creditors and landlords do not approve a rescue plan. The chain plans to close 33 stores and seek rent reductions on another 71 to cut costs. Approval from 75% of creditors is needed to unlock an emergency loan from the founding Lewis family. Despite these challenges, River Island stores and its online site remain open as usual. The retailer reported a £33.2million pre-tax loss for 2023, with sales falling 19% in the following year. Several stores have already closed this year, including locations in Corby, Banbury, and Chesterfield. Superdrug Superdrug is set to close two more stores this summer, adding to a string of recent closures. The Grantham branch in Lincolnshire will shut on August 9, followed by the Redruth store in Cornwall closing on August 16. These latest closures follow the shutdown of its Bournemouth store earlier this year. The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) The Original Factory Shop, with 178 stores, continues to close locations amid restructuring. The Caldicot branch in Wales and Kirkham in Lancashire are set to close soon, while the closure date for Blairgowrie in Scotland is still unknown. Since June, TOFS has closed several stores across the UK and launched significant closing down sales. The retailer is undergoing a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) process to renegotiate rents and close loss-making outlets as part of efforts to stabilise the business. 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."
South China Morning Post
09-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Empty shops litter Hong Kong as vacancy rates hit 4½-year high
A large number of shops have closed down in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Dickson Lee A large number of shops have closed down in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Dickson Lee share
Daily Mail
20-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
River island to close 33 stores in battle for survival
River Island is axing hundreds of jobs as it closes shops in a battle for survival. The fashion firm plans to shut 33 stores as shoppers abandon the High Street and head online. The announcement came as official figures showed retail sales fell 2.7 per cent in May – the biggest slump since 2023. Chief executive Ben Lewis also cited the increasing cost of doing business after Labour piled billions of pounds of extra taxes on retailers. The firm is asking landlords for rent reductions on a further 71 shops in order to make it worth keeping them open. The retailer trades from about 230 stores and employs 5,500 staff. Lewis said: 'River Island is a much-loved retailer, with a decades-long history on the High Street. However, the well-documented migration of shoppers from the high street to online has left the business with a large portfolio of stores that is no longer aligned to our customers' needs. 'The sharp rise in the cost of doing business over the last few years has only added to the financial burden.' The company made a £33.2m loss for the year to December 30 2023, the latest year it has published accounts for.
The Sun
06-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Original Factory Shop launches closing down sale at another store – see the full list of locations at risk
THE Original Factory Shop is set to call time on another store with a number of sites at risk of closure. A branch in Middlewich is now the latest store to be marked for closure. 1 A closing down sale has been launched with up to 50% off some lines in the store. Locals have branded the closure in the Cheshire town as "another blow" for the high street. A concerned shopper warned there would be "nothing left" in the area as "everything is closing down". While another said: "Your store was a highlight of my days during a really tough time when I lived in Middlewich." And a third added: "This shop will be greatly missed." The exact date of when the store has not been confirmed yet. but The Sun will update this piece when we find out more. Up to 11 TOFS stores are already to set to close this month, including sites across Worcestershire, Durham and Cumbria . Meanwhile, another five stores across Nairn, Market Drayton, Troon, Blairgowrie and Castle Douglas have been placed up for sale. The Original Factory Shop has told The Sun that negotiations are ongoing with landlords - making it unclear whether these shops will remain open. It comes as part of a major restructuring carried out by new owner Modella Capital with a number of loss making stores having to close as result. Why are shops closing stores? A spokesperson told The Sun: "Closing stores is always a tough decision, and we are committed to keeping as many stores open as possible. "This is, however, dependent on successful negotiations with landlords as we strive to build a sustainable and successful business for the future." They added: "These negotiations are commercially sensitive and so we cannot comment on which stores are affected.' You can see the full list of store closures here: Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire - June 26 Perth - June 28 Chester Le Street, County Durham - June 28 Arbroath, Angus - June 28 Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire - June 28 Pershore, Worcestershire - June 28 Normanton, West Yorkshire - June 28 Peterhead, Aberdeenshire - June 28 Shaftesbury, Dorset - June 28 Staveley, Cumbria - July 12 Middlewich - TBC The following stores are also up for sale: Nairn Market Drayton Troon Blairgowrie Castle Douglas What's been happening with The Original Factory Shop? Private equity firm Modella bought The Original Factory Shop back in February and has since launched a restructuring effort to renegotiate rents at 88 TOFS stores. Modella is known for picking up struggling retailers, having also recently acquired Hobbycraft and WHSmith 's high street shops. It is set to rebrand all WHSmith high street stores to TGJones, and has brought in advisers to look at potential options for Hobbycraft. At the end of April, Modella drew up plans to initiate a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) for TOFS. Companies often use CVAs to prevent insolvency, which could otherwise result in store closures or the collapse of the entire business. They allow firms to explore different strategies such as negotiating reduced rent rates with landlords. TOFS previously told The Press and Journal that a "number of loss-making stores will have to close" as part of the restructuring. It said at the time: "Closing stores is always a tough decision and we are committed to keeping as many stores open as possible. "This is, however, dependent on successful negotiations with landlords as we strive to build a sustainable and successful business for the future." The Original Factory shop has already shuttered more than a dozen stores over the past 12 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."
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."
