‘Closing everywhere’ moan shoppers as major high street name with 1,200 branches ‘suddenly’ shuts store
SHOPPERS have been left gutted after a major retailer with 1,200 branches closed one of its locations.
It comes as part of plans by the chain to move away from the high street and focus on its stores inside supermarkets.
Argos, owned by Sainsbury’s, pulled down the shutters on its branch at the Palace Grounds Retail Park in Hamilton, Scotland, last month.
Shoppers next nearest Argos branch can now be found in the Sainsbury’s Hamilton Superstore.
A spokesperson said: “As we continue with our plan to transform Argos and offer even more convenient ways to shop with us, we are reducing the number of standalone Argos stores we operate while opening more Argos stores and collection points within Sainsbury’s.
“As part of this plan we made the difficult decision to close our Hamilton Argos store at the end of April.”
Shoppers and locals have been left distraught after finding out the branch has closed permanently.
One simply said “closing everywhere” while another added “more jobs gone.”
A third commented: “It happened so suddenly.”
It comes as part of Argos’ plans to close 100 UK branches by the end of July this year in a blow for the high street.
The retailer is looking to move away from operating as many standalone stores and focus its attentions on branches in supermarkets.
Sainsbury’s previously said it expected to have 160 standalone stores and between 430 and 460 Argos counters inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets by March 2024.
Argos is yet to reveal the full list of locations it has closed or is set to shut.
But, Argos has confirmed some branches which have closed in recent months are part of the 100 earmarked to shut.
This includes its branch at Festival Park in Stoke-on-Trent, which closed in February, and its store at Kettering Retail Park, which shut in November.
It comes after Argos closed all 34 of its branches in the Republic of Ireland last June in a blow for the high street.
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 Paperchase, Cath Kidston, 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.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
The retailer announced the branches would close in January, while staff were understood to have been given the opportunity to redeploy to other roles within Sainsbury’s and Argos.
What else is happening on the high street?
A number of retailers have been closing branches across the UK as rising business costs take a hold.
The Body Shop, Wilko and Ted Baker have all collapsed into administration since last year.
It has seen hundreds of stores close and thousands of staff lose their jobs.
Other retailers, such as Poundland and Lidl, have closed branches between them as they freshen up their presence on the high street.
It’s not all bad news though, as several other retailers and hospitality venues have plans to expand.
Heineken recently announced plans to invest £39million to help reopen 62 previously shuttered British pubs.
Meanwhile, German discounter Aldi has announced it will open 35 new UK stores this year.
The openings form part of Aldi’s long-term target of 1,500 stores in the UK.
Asda has been opening hundreds of convenience stores in recent months as it looks to rival major players Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
The parent company of Bonmarché, Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) and Peacocks, Purepay Retail Limited, has said it wants to open 100 new high street stores over the next 18 months.
It has yet to give the exact locations where it will open the 100 stores or when they will open.
Home Bargains, which was running just under 600 branches as of last June, has said it wants to “eventually have between 800 and 1,000 retail outlets open”.
The major discounter has stopped short of saying when it wants to reach the 1,000 store target, however.
Primark is also opening new branches and investing and renovating more than a dozen of its existing shops.
Screwfix is set to open 40 new stores nationwide as its owner, Kingfisher, seeks to expand the DIY brand’s national presence.
Tesco has revealed plans to open 70 more stores across the UK over the next year as part of major expansion plans.
WHSmith has turned its focus to the travel side of its business, with plans to open new sites in airports, railway stations and hospitals.
Poundland and Lidl have been opening stores between them as well, as they look to expand across various parts of the UK.
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