Major high street retailer with 1,100 stores to shut two sites for good TODAY amid wave of closures
A MAJOR retailer with more than 1,100 branches will shut two shops for the last time today after a string of other closures.
WHSmith, the popular British stationer which is known for its books, magazines and newspapers, will permanently shut two shops today.
The store at The Malls shopping centre in Basingstoke, Hampshire, will close for the last time today.
The chain has been a fixture in the town for more than 56 years.
WHSmith announced earlier this year that it will close a number of sites in the UK but the Basingstoke branch was not originally included on the list.
The company is closing a number of outlets and expanding its presence in airports and train stations, while new branches are planned at key travel sites.
Read more on shop closures
Clearance signs have been put up in the Basingstoke shop to advertise discounts on a wide range of items including books and stationery.
WHSmith said the decision to close the shop was due to the upcoming lease expiring and changing trading conditions.
A WHSmith spokesperson told The Sun: “We can confirm that the WHSmith store in Basingstoke will be closing on Saturday February 1, 2025.
“It is no longer sustainable to continue to trade from this location and the decision has been taken to close the store as a result of the forthcoming lease expiry.
“We are disappointed to be losing our presence in Basingstoke and we would like to thank all our customers for their support and for shopping with us.
“We are also extremely grateful for the commitment of our in store colleagues who we will support with this transition and redeploy to nearby stores, where possible.”
Many residents feared the closure could affect the town’s Post Office, which moved into the WHSmith branch in 2019.
The Post Office has confirmed that it is in the process of finding a new operator to take over the branch.
One resident said: “Hopefully the Post Office will decide to take the whole downstairs unit and open a larger service up again like Basingstoke used too at top of town.”
Meanwhile, the WHSmith on Long Eaton’s High Street in Nottinghamshire will also close today.
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.
The store has also launched a closing down sale, with reports suggesting that shelves have nearly been stripped bare.
Customers can get up to 75% off cards, stationery and books.
Residents have taken to social media to voice their frustrations, describing the closure as “sad”, with one saying the area will be left like a “ghost town”.
One said: “Another big empty shop. But not surprised…its so sad to see what Long Eaton has become.”
A WHSmith spokesperson told The Sun it was “disappointed” to be losing its presence in the area.
They said: "It is no longer sustainable to continue to trade from this location and the decision has been taken to close the store as a result of the forthcoming lease expiry.
"We are also extremely grateful for the commitment of our in store colleagues who we will support with this transition and redeploy to nearby stores, where possible."
WHSmith is shuttering several branches across the UK as it expands into the travel sector.
The retail giant, which runs more than 1,100 stores, has earmarked 19 shops which will shut for good in the coming months.
These include its Winton branch in Bournemouth, Dorset, on February 15, and a branch in Woolwich in April.
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The stationer has already closed down several stores, including in Bolton, Lancashire and Boscombe, Bournemouth.
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