MORE shops will pull down the shutters for good before the end of the year following a tough few years for city and town centres.
Shoppers have faced a swathe of closures on their local high streets in recent years as many favourite chains shutter sites.
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High street shops have seen lower footfall and less money landing in the tills as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.
People naturally cut back on retail therapy as they found they had less cash in their back pockets.
The decline in spending along with high rents and costs, have forced many chains to pursue restructuring plans and close locations.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed almost 10,500 UK shops closed for the final time in 2023.
The 12-month period also saw more than 119,000 jobs lost across the sector.
According to the centre’s data 2024 has already seen a further 8,543 stores closed and more than 130,000 retail jobs lost.
This month will be no different, with Homebase and Millets among those closing sites.
Of course, it’s not all bad news. In some cases branches will be replaced with bigger and better shops.
Retailers regularly open and close shops for a number of reasons – not just because they are struggling.
For example, they may have a store nearby that is performing better or it may be because they want to pick a spot that has higher footfall, such as in a retail park.
Homebase
The Range recently saved 70 Homebase stores from closure after it collapsed into administration.
But Homebase has confirmed that six branches will close their doors for good in December.
The DIY retailer has launched huge closing down sales at the sites with discounts worth up to 60%.
Stores in Sutton Coldfield, Bromsgrove, Cromer, Fareham, Newark and Rugby will all close over the busy festive period.
Three more Homebase sites in Derry/Londonderry, Inverurie, and Omagh are also set to close in the coming months, along with a branch in Glenrothes near Fife.
The 10 Homebase stores were earmarked to close after Sainsbury’s agreed to acquire them from the DIY chain in August.
Sainsbury’s will convert the units into new supermarkets.
Homebase has closed 93 stores since it was taken over by Hilco Capital in 2018.
Hilco bought the hardware store chain for £1 from Australian firm Wesfarmers, which had paid £340million for the brand.
There have been reports that Hilco Capital is looking to sell the company.
Other retailers that have previously shown an interest in Homebase include B&M, the London-listed discount retailer.
Homebase currently operates around 144 locations across the UK.
Select
Select will pull down the shutters on its branch in the Mall, Cwmbran, Wales in December.
Select has more than 100 stores across the UK, including branches in Manchester, Bolton and Sunderland.
The brand was founded in 1980 and has become a staple of the high street.
A post on retailer’s Facebook page read: “Heartbreaking to be writing this – but Select Cwmbran will be closing. Our last final day will be December 4 or 5.”
The closure is due to Select being unable to renew its lease on the site.
Shoppers took to social media to share their sadness over the closure.
One customer said: “Oh never, absolutely gutted for you.”
The news came after Select closed its store in the County Square Shopping Centre in February this year.
In summer, it also closed a branch in Ipswich as well as a site in Coventry.
Stores opening in December 2024
Toys R Us
The iconic 90s toys retailer is to rapidly launch 23 new shops following the successful opening of dozens in the last year.
The stores will all be open by Christmas, with the first welcoming customers at the end of last month.
See a full list of locations here.
Mountain Warehouse
The outdoor clothes retailer has revealed it will open 50 new stores in the UK.
The brand has already opened 20 new stores in the UK in the past six months – and now plans to expand to new locations, including at retail parks.
The exact list of locations where Mountain Warehouse will be opening is yet to be revealed.
Lidl
Lidl has said it wants to open 10 more UK stores before Christmas as it targets festive shoppers.
The discounter currently has about 960 stores but previously said it wants to operate more than 1,100 across England, Wales and Scotland.
The locations it wants to open branches before the end of the year includes: Berwick Green in Bristol, Bovey Tracy in Devon, Stirchley in Birmingham and Hoxton, Forest Gate and Caterham in London.
Robert Gatward Jewellers
Robert Gatward Jewellers in Thame, Oxfordshire will close its doors for the final time on Christmas Eve.
The Thame high street shop has been holding a massive store-wide sale, with owners Keith and Bridie Gill saying they have to move £4million in stock.
The sale will see jewellery discounted by 50 per cent including diamond rings, precious stone pieces, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings.
Current owners Keith and Bridie bought the business in 1999 from namesake Robert Gatward who opened the store in 1969.
They have said the store is closing because the lease is coming to an end.
Czerwik Fine Wines & Cheeses
Czerwik Fine Wines & Cheeses Czerwik Fine Wines & Cheeses, in the Brighouse town centre, West Yorkshire will close for good on December 31.
In a post on social media, the store’s owners said: “After 33 years and much deliberation it is with great sadness and a heavy heart we have decided to close our doors.
“Obviously, this has been a very difficult decision to make and not taken lightly.”
The post suggested it was not the end of the road for the business, and added: “New things are coming.”
The announcement on Facebook prompted hundreds of comments of support.
Millets
A Millets store in Market Street, York, is expected to close later in December, ahead of its conversion into a Go Outdoors Express store in the New Year.
The two brands sit under the same parent company, JD Outdoors.
CEO Lee Bagnall told The Press: “The current Millets store is located in a prime location on Market Street, an easily accessible and popular place for shoppers.
“We always aim to provide the best possible experience for our customers, so by converting this store to a GO Express, customers will be able to benefit from the GO Outdoors loyalty programme, which offers exclusive and more affordable prices for members.”
A Millets site in Burgess Hill – one of the 100 stores across the nation – is also set to close for good.
A source close to the store said: “We decided not to renew the lease at our Burgess Hill store which had come up for renewal.
“This affects four colleagues, and we are working with them to see if there are alternative roles available at other local JDGroup stores.”
The two closures follow a handful of closures of Millets stores across the country in recent weeks, including Sussex, Halifax and Cheltenham.
Guinevere
Legendary antique shop Guinevere in London’s King’s Road is closing after 60 years on the busy high street.
The shop, founded by Genevieve Weaver in 1963, is set to close on Christmas Eve.
Weaver’s sons Marc and Kevin took over the business in the early 1980s but the pair have been forced to close the store by rising shipping costs.
They’ll now shift to operate the business online so it will continue “in some form”.
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.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is “less bad” than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” Prof Bamfield said.
“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023’s biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
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