‘Must visit’ bike retailer with 70 branches to close store with ‘best service ever’ in months
A MAJOR bike retailer with 70 branches across the UK is permanently closing a store with the “best service ever” within months.
Evans Cycles, owned by the Frasers Group, is set to pull down the shutters on its Fitzrovia shop in the west end of London in May.
Once the site closes cyclists‘ next nearest branch will be in King Cross, just under two miles away, reports Fitzrovia News.
News of the closure will likely be met with sadness from locals who are full of praise for the store online.
Posting on Google Reviews, one shopper said they had received the “best service ever” there.
Another said: “A great service center (sic) for any bike, and the staff are very helpful.
“A must visit for anyone who is looking for a bike or has questions.”
A third said: “Fantastic bike shop. Really friendly and helpful mechanics and staff.
“I got honest help and didn’t feel like I was being up-sold at all. Highly recommended.”
And a fourth commented: “Excellent service. Very fast and friendly staff. Would recommend anyone that needs a bike repair to go here.”
It comes after Evans Cycles was bought out of administration by Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct in late 2018.
The UK cycling chain ran 62 branches at the time, employing 1,000 staff members.
Upon the announcement the cycling chain would be bought out, Mr Ashley said some stores would have to close.
However, in March 2019, Evans Cycles announced just eight branches out of its portfolio would shutter down for good.
The bike chain’s store finder tool says the retailer now runs 71 branches across the UK.
Which other retailers are closing branches?
Evan’s Cycles is just one retailer announcing store closures across the UK as the high street takes a hit.
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.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is “less bad” than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” Prof Bamfield said.
“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023’s biggest failures included UK Flooring Direct, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
Last year, around 14% of insolvencies were in retail businesses, according to official figures.
House of Fraser, also owned by The Frasers Group, is set to pull down its store in Carlisle in May.
The chain has shuttered several stores since last year, including in Birmingham, Cardiff and Guildford.
Other Frasers Group stores are closing too.
A Sports Direct branch in Stroud, Gloucestershire, will be pulling the shutters down for good at the end of March.
Sports Direct also shuttered its branch in the Central Six Retail Park, Coventry, at the end of January.
The Flannels site in Market Place Shopping Centre, Bolton, pulled down its shutters for the final time in the new year.
It also shut its site in Bradford in January despite only opening back in October.
But it’s not all bad news for the retail group as it is opening branches across the UK as well.
In recent months it has been opening “new concept” stores which sell brands from across the group including Sports Direct, Flannels and Jack Wills.
Last September, it cut the ribbon on one of the stores in Norwich and has opened two more of the stores in Blackpool and Sheffield in recent months.
Plus, it has plans to open one of the concept stores in a former John Lewis site at Queensgate Shopping Centre, Peterborough by the end of 2025.
The firm also recently took on the famous Compton House in Liverpool and will reopen the site as its flagship Sports Direct branch.
Which other retailers are closing stores?
Supermarket chains such as Lidl, Tesco and Iceland have been closing stores since the start of 2023.
Meanwhile, retailers such as Poundstretcher, Argos and House of Fraser have been shuttering single stores too.
Major names such as Wilko, Paperchase and The Body Shop have crashed into administration since last year as well, shutting hundreds of branches between them.
In June last year, Boots said it would massively consolidate its portfolio of 2,200 stores to 1,900.
The pharmacy chain said it would shut stores where there was another one nearby.
However, as is the case with The Frasers Group, it’s not all bad news for the high street – a number of retailers are expanding.
Asda has been opening hundreds of convenience stores in a bid to rival its rivals Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
Primark is also opening new branches and investing and renovating more than a dozen of its existing shops.
Meanwhile, Wilko has made a comeback on the high street, opening stores in Plymouth, Luton and Exeter before the end of last year.
And in January, discounter chain B&M said it had plans to open 17 new sites in 2024.
The Sun approached Frasers Group for a comment.
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