All the shops closing for good this weekend as big 70% closing down sales launched
A NUMBER of shops are set to vanish from the high street this weekend and have launched huge closing down sales in the process.
Big name brands including Sports Direct and New Look are set to reduce the number of stores they have, causing heartbreak for locals.
It comes as many retailers are continuing to feel the pain of higher rents and shoppers having less money to part with at the till.
Hikes to National Insurance contributions, imposed this month, have also added to business costs.
Below we share all the stores closing this weekend.
SPORTS DIRECT
The bargain leisure store will close its branch in Newmarket Road, Cambridge tomorrow.
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The store has launched a huge everything must go sale to help shift stock before it shuts its doors for good.
But while some shoppers are happy to grab a bargain, others have not taken the news so well.
Many have taken to social media to voice their frustration.
One person wrote: "Another nail in the coffin for concrete Cambridge."
It comes after the the retailer closed its store in the Central Six Retail Park, Coventry, at the end of January 2024.
It also pulled the shutters down for good at its branch in Stroud, Gloucestershire, last March.
Its store on Octagon Parade in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, also closed for the final time during that period.
New Look
The high street fashion retailer is closing a branch in Bexleyheath, London, and has launched a huge 70% off sale.
It's store will close on April 19, giving locals just a few days to say their goodbyes.
The British brand has already shut a number of branches because of this month's National Insurance hike.
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.
However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April 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.
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."
It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024.
End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker.
It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date.
This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023.
It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns.
The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker.
Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations.
Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes.
Professor Bamfield has 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."
From April 6 the amount of National Insurance employers pay rose from 13.8% to 15%.
This has added extra costs for businesses at a time when their budgets are already squeezed.
Approximately a quarter of the retailer's 364 stores are at risk when their leases expire.
This equates to about 91 stores, with a significant impact on its 8,000-strong workforce.
Last month, it closed branches in St Austell, Cornwall, and Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.
The chain has previously closed locations in Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and Wickford, Essex.
New Look also closed down its 26 stores in Ireland after its Irish arm entered into liquidation.
River Island
The popular clothing chain will also close down a branch this weekend.
It's shop in at Vicar Lane Shopping Centre in Chesterfield will shut on April 19.
In the lead-up to the closure, the store has launched a closing down sale, offering 30% off everything.
River Island will also shut down a store in Willow Place, Corby, at the end of April.
It marks the end of a near decade end stint at the shopping centre, having first opened in the retail outlet in 2007.
Sims Footwear
Family-owned Sims Footwear is also set to shutter its store in Birmingham.
The shoe store in the Great Western Arcade Shopping Centre will close on April 19.
Owner Paul Lamb, 62, blamed declining footfall for the closure, having already shut his accessory store and another shoe shop in previous years.
He told BirminghamWorld: "It’s pointless trying to do what we’ve been doing, we just can’t hang on any longer."
Room Perfected
The homeware store in Manchester has launched a huge 40% off sale ahead of shutting for good.
The sale at Room Perfected in Manchester runs from Friday, April 18 to Monday, April 21.
The store is closing temporarily for a major transformation following customer feedback.
The re-imagined space will offer stylish, affordable home essentials, such as dining sets, sofas, beds, and garden furniture.
But before the redesign begins, Room Perfected is clearing out its current stock at reduced prices.
WH SMITH
The stationary store is set to close two stores this weekend, in a blow to locals.
Branches in Halesowen, West Midlands, and Diss, Norfolk, will close on April 19.
It comes after WHSmith said it was looking at offloading 500 high street stores in January.
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Around 5,000 people are employed across the high street shops.
Last month the 232 year-old British business agreed to sell the chain to Modella Capital, with the stores eventually rebranded as TGJones.
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."
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