A RAFT of closures have already happened this year, with some shutting their doors for good and disappearing from the high street forever.
Retailers have been feeling the pinch since the pandemic while shoppers are cutting back spending due to soaring inflation.
Shops have been shutting their doors left, right and centreAlamy
Plus, over 15,000 jobs have been axed since the start of the year as dozens of retailers collapsed or were restructured.
High energy costs and a shift to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
Some well-known retailers are shutting a handful of branches, while others are set to disappear completely from the high street.
The closures come after more companies in England and Wales went bankrupt in March than at any point over the last three years, according to the Insolvency Service.
The number of retailers going down jumped to 2,457 in March, up 16% a year earlier.
Here we round up all the shops set to close by the end of the year for good:
Paperchase
Popular stationary shop Paperchase fell into administration in February after it failed to find a buyer.
Supermarket giant Tesco stepped up to buy the rights to the brand, but not its shops.
Administrators later confirmed that all of the stores would close as a result with 900 jobs at risk.
Dozens of branches of the stationery store’s branches closed over the last month.
The company closed forever on April 3.
M&Co
M&Co will be bringing the shutters down on all of its shops by the end of the month, The Sun revealed.
It comes after the brand fell into administration last year and announced that all of its 170 stores will be closing.
Administrators at Teneo put the bust business up for sale with an auction deadline for interested buyers.
M&Co’s brand and intellectual property was sold to Yours Clothing but the stores weren’t and are set to close.
So far, 110 M&Co locations have disappeared from the high street.
The closures were confirmed on each store’s Facebook page.
Argos – Ireland
Home retailer Argos announced it will close all of its stores in the Republic of Ireland this year.
The chain employs around 580 people in 34 stores across the country.
The high street chain will withdraw from Ireland completely on June 24.
UK stores will not be affected by the closures.
It made the decision to leave Ireland following “careful consideration” and a “thorough review” of its business and operations in the country.
The company said it found that the investment required to develop and modernise the Irish part of its business was “not viable”.
You can see the full list of locations closing here.
Other stores that are closing this year
As well as companies leaving the high street for good, other major retailers have announced they’ll be shutting some of their branches this year too.
Here’s what other retailers are clamping down on the number of branches across the country:
BootsB&QClintonsHalfordsHomesensehouse of FraserH&MIcelandLloyds PharmacyMarks & SpencerNew LookWetherspoons
On top of retailers closing, lots of bank branches will also be leaving the high street this year, with hundreds having closed already.
More than 300 banks will be closing in this year alone.
It comes as customers are opting for digital banking.
So far in April, seven locations have already pulled down the shutters for the last time.
A remaining 45 are still left to close, including 15 Barclays branches.
HSBC will shut up shop at 11 different sites, while six Halifax branches are set for closure.
A further six Lloyds locations will also shut, as well as six NatWest branches.
If you are worried about your local bank branch closing, you’ve got some options.
You can always switch to a different bank or building society that has a branch closest to you.
Or, if you don’t want to switch, you can use one of the Post Office’s 11,635 branches to carry out the most basic banking tasks.
It’s worth contacting your bank if you’re struggling to get to your nearest branch to see if they offer such a service.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]