At least five major high street stores have already closed this month, and there’s more to come from Marks and Spencer.
Marks and Spencer to shut in days amid widespread high street store closures (Image: Getty)
Britons experienced a busy summer of store closures, with major retailers like Boots and Marks and Spencer shutting shops across the UK. This month alone, four popular retailers, including Homebase, Wetherspoons, Decathlon and Co-op, have closed their doors.
According to a recent report by PwC, the high street has faced significant challenges with a notable increase in store closures. The report highlights that 6,945 shops closed in the first half of this year.
That equates to an average of 38 closures per day – a slight rise compared to the first six months of 2023, when 36 shops closed daily.
Retail chain store closures “almost exactly mirror the decline of in-store shopping and the corresponding rise of online retail sales”, reported PwC.
House of Fraser collapsed into administration due to spiralling costs, including high rents (Image: Getty)
Marks and Spencer
M&S shoppers local to the branch in Queensway, Crawley, will see it close for good on Saturday, November 16.
It’s one of dozens of sites earmarked for closure as part of a 10-year restructuring plan that will see Foodhalls replace many old-format Marks and Spencer department stores.
Graham Bennett, M&S regional manager, said that changing shopping habits prompted the closure.
He claimed: “Individual conversations are continuing with our colleagues, and wherever possible, we will be offering them alternative roles with M&S.”
Homebase has closed several stores in recent years (Image: Getty)
House of Fraser
Famed for its longstanding high street legacy, the iconic department store will close yet another site at the end of the month.
Shoppers who frequent the branch in the Bluewater Shopping Centre, Kent, have until November 27 to visit. The department store giant has operated out of a large unit spread over two shopping centre floors for 25 years.
Homebase
The DIY chain confirmed it would shut two branches in November after the announcement that 10 stores would close after Sainsbury’s acquisition.
Those living near the sites on Marsh Mills Retail Park in Plymouth and Southam Road in Banbury were told both would close by the end of the month.
However, the two Homebase sites have already ceased trading after being listed as “permanently closed” on Google Maps.
Store closures will continue into the New Year, with two other major brands set to shut in January.
Millets
Millets have launched huge clearance sales at six of its stores, where shoppers can get 30 percent off all stock before the stores close.
The sites in question are expected to close early in the New Year. However, four of these locations will be reopened and rebranded as GO Outdoors, a sister brand to Millets.
Branches in Lowestoft, York, Douglas and Grimsby have been earmarked for re-opening under the GO Outdoors brand. However, the Millets shop in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, will close permanently, and there are no plans to reinstate it.
Evans Cycles
The longstanding bike retailer Evans Cycles will bid farewell to one of its major sites later this year.
Shoppers who frequent the branch in the Gateway Shopping Centre in Trowbridge will see it remain open over Christmas and New Year, though it will close in the first week of January. Evans Cycles has already hung “closing down” posters in the windows, offering 20 percent off selected stock.
