‘Sad times’ as major department store prepares to close another branch within hours – is your local going?
A MAJOR department store is preparing to close another branch within hours in a fresh blow to the high street.
House of Fraser confirmed to The Sun that its store in Solihull will close for the final time today.
It comes after the high street chain closed two locations late last year as it battled to attract customers to its stores.
A spokesperson for Frasers Group said it was committed to finding all staff a new role within the company.
Shoppers have taken to social media to share their sadness over the store’s closure.
One Facebook user said: “Sad times for house of Fraser in Solihull.”
While another wrote: “A real shame. Hopefully the building gets put to good use.”
And a third simply added: “Very sad to see this go.”
The shuttering of the store in Solihull is the first of two upcoming House of Fraser closures.
The department store’s branch in Guildford will shut on Saturday, September 30.
In the meantime, shoppers have been taking advantage of price cuts across all the store’s stock.
These big “closing down” style events usually precede a store closure and bargain hunters are thrilled with the savings.
Shoppers have previously described these sales as being “better than Christmas“.
House of Fraser sells big brands like Calvin Klein, Superdry, Paul Smith and Ted Baker, so shoppers could make huge savings in the sale.
But remember, it’s only a bargain if you were thinking of buying it anyway and you shouldn’t buy something just because it’s reduced.
It comes as the Frasers Group, which owns the chain, confirmed it had closed ten House of Fraser stores in the year to the end of April.
Michael Murray, the chief executive of Frasers, claimed “the department store globally is broken” while adding that some outlets were “still too big”.
In February, the chain turned its store in Birmingham into an outlet and closed its iconic store in the Howells building in Cardiff.
In January, it closed its department store in High Wycombe, two months after its store in Westfield Shepherd’s Bush closed for the last time.
House of Fraser was saved from collapse by billionaire businessman Mike Ashley back in 2018.
But while the deal saved the chain’s 59 stores and 17,000 workers who were facing the axe many more stores have closed in recent years and only 30 department stores remain.
Soaring inflation has left shoppers strapped for cash, and retailers are struggling to get customers to part with their hard-earned money.
High energy costs and a shift to online shopping are also taking a toll and many brands just haven’t been able to keep going.
If you want to know how your local high street is affected, you can check out our handy guide to all the shops that closed down this month.
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