SEVERAL big high street names are permanently closing their doors this week.
In recent years, shoppers have witnessed a wave of closures as numerous chains have been forced to shut branches across the country.
However, it’s not just large retailers feeling the pinch – independent stores are also struggling to stay afloat in an increasingly challenging environment.
High street shops have suffered from dwindling footfall and reduced spending, largely driven by the ongoing cost of living crisis.
With household budgets tighter than ever, many people have naturally cut back on non-essential purchases, leaving less money flowing into tills.
This sharp decline in consumer spending, coupled with soaring rents and operational costs, has already pushed several chains to implement restructuring plans and permanently close locations in a bid to survive.
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Meanwhile, other retailers are opting for a more measured approach, choosing to close their less profitable sites in a bid to stabilise their revenues and safeguard their future.
We’ve listed all the retailers permanently closing stores across the UK this week.
Aldi
Aldi is set to close its Swanfield Place store in Llanelli, Wales, on April 27, with no plans for a replacement branch.
The decision by the popular budget supermarket will force local shoppers to make their way to the Trostre retail park, roughly a 30-minute walk from the soon-to-close site, to access affordable groceries.
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This announcement comes as a significant setback for the town, particularly for those who may find it difficult to travel the additional distance to Trostre.
Bimbi
Bimbi, the children’s clothing boutique in Bury St Edmunds, has announced it will permanently close its doors on April 26.
The shop, founded in 2023 by mum-of-three Rozina Hajdarmetaj, was established to bring stylish and quality kidswear to the local high street.
After nearly two years of trading, customers were greeted with the unfortunate news displayed in the shop window, alongside details of a major closing down sale.
Everything in-store is now available at half price, offering bargain hunters a final opportunity to pick up deals before the boutique bids farewell for good.
JoJo Maman Bebe
The JoJo Maman Bebe store in Haywards Heath is scheduled to close permanently on April 26.
While the reason for the closure has not been disclosed, the popular retailer continues to operate approximately 47 stores across the UK, in cities such as Nottingham, London, and York.
Known for its range of baby and children’s clothing, maternity wear, and parenting essentials, the brand has long been a trusted name for families.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April 2025, will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
Oxfam
Oxfam’s Bull Ring shop in Ludlow is set to close its doors for the final time on April 26.
The “difficult decision” to close was made after a period of financial difficulties, which bosses say forced them to reevaluate the store’s “viability”.
A charity spokesperson thanked all their “loyal” customers who have supported the store “so generously” over the years.
Books from the store will be redistributed to other Oxfam shops across the country, and customers are reminded that they can continue to support the charity by making donations via its website.
WHSmith
WHSmith has sold off nearly 500 of its high street stores, with up to 20 branches set to close in the coming weeks.
The stationery retailer, now under the ownership of Hobbycraft’s parent company Modella Capital, will see its iconic name vanish from the high street entirely, though it will continue to operate its outlets in travel hubs such as airports and train stations.
The closures are moving quickly, with high street stores in Newport, Wales and Haverhill, Suffolk scheduled to shut their doors for the final time on Saturday, April 26.
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Both locations are currently running massive closing down sales, offering shoppers up to 75% off – perfect for those looking to snap up a last-minute bargain.
An additional four stores are expected to close permanently in May and July, with the possibility of further closures looming.
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.”
