‘Such a shame’ cry shoppers as high street gadget shop with 60 locations abruptly shuts ‘best shop’ in retail park
A POPULAR gadget shop with 60 locations has abruptly shut leaving shoppers devastated.
MenKind has closed its store on Teesside Retail Park after 'months of uncertainty'.
The retailer held a closing-down sale over the Christmas period and pulled the shutters down for the final time on December 29.
According to local news outlet The Northern Echo the business has been in discussions to relocate to larger premises.
This would be good news for local shoppers who have been voicing their disappointment at the loss of the store.
One person said: "Best shop in Teesside Park."
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Another added: "Such a shame my son's first job when he left school."
While another added: "Awww no way I loved this shop."
The store is located next to clothing retailer USC which also recently closed its doors.
The Sun has approached Menkind for confirmation of the closure.
It is not all bad news for local shoppers as other outlets have recently opened up on the retail park.
Cosmetics brand Lush opened up in December, and restaurant chain Wagamama also opened up a restaurant on the retail complex.
It is a difficult time for high street retailers and 2023 saw many popular shops close their doors for good.
Chains such as Wilko and Paperchase collapsed into administration and other big retailers such as Boots also closed down outlets.
Several major shops and chains are also set to close branches in 2024.
Some branches will be relocated or replaced as retailers look to shake up their store portfolio while others will disappear from the high street forever.
Argos, Next, Jack Wills and Poundland are all set to shut branches this year.
It comes as 6,000 retail outlets have brought down the shutters since 2018, according to the British Retail Consortium.
The trade association's chief executive Helen Dickinson OBE blamed the closures on "crippling" business rates and the impact of coronavirus lockdowns.
We have the full list of shops shutting branches in 2024.
It is not only retailers that are suffering, pubs and other hospitality businesses are also closing down at an alarming rate.
Just last week a seaside chippy with "the best fish and chips in the world" shut down after 62 years.
Also, a popular pub in Sheppey announced that it would not be reopening leaving punters devastated.
In December, The Duke of Edinburgh pub in Barming also announced that it would be shutting and offered refunds to customers for its New Year's Eve party.
Meanwhile, just last week two popular restaurants announced that they would no longer be able to remain open.
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Tony Rodd, an ex-Masterchef finalist closed his restaurant "immediately" after its monthly energy bill tripled to an eye-watering sum.
Also, celebrity chef Simon Rimmer announced that he had made the heartbreaking decision to close his restaurant after 33 years.