MAJOR high street brands and big supermarkets are closing more of their stores within weeks.
Argos, House of Fraser, and a number of other big brands are shutting stores for good.
AlamyHere’s a full list of all the high street shops set to close down for good this summer[/caption]
Some stores will be replaced with brand new shops while others will leave the high street forever.
Retailers have been feeling the pinch since the pandemic while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to soaring inflation.
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.
Here’s a full list of some well-known retailers that will be shutting dozens of branches this summer.
Argos
Argos has already pulled down the shutters on 37 stores this year and more are planned over the coming year.
St Stephen’s Shopping Centre, Hull (August 8)Grimsby (August)Scunthorpe (August)Riverside, Norwich (August)Parc Plaza, Bridgend (August)
Locations in Newport and Cardiff Bay in Wales will also shut up shop later in the year, but the exact dates have yet to be confirmed.
Argos had already shut 45 branches in the last 12 months up to March this year.
Argos pulled out of the Republic of Ireland when it shut all 34 stores on June 24.
Before this, it closed its Coatbridge branch in Lanarkshire on March 11.
Two standalone Argos branches also closed in January in Coventry and Nottingham.
At the same time, it opened 25 branches inside Sainsbury’s stores.
In the current financial year which runs to March 2024, 30 Argos stores are planned to open inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets.
But with 100 standalone stores closing, that will leave 70 locations without direct replacements.
Co-op
Co-op is pulling down the shutters on two stores in July and August in:
Castle House, Sheffield (July 22)Mildenhall Road, Bury St Edmunds (August 19)
A spokesperson for the business said it “regularly reviews all of its sites and decisions regarding any store are only taken after careful consideration”.
It comes after Co-op shut a number of other branches earlier this year with others mooted for closure.
The chain closed its branch in Princess Drive, Grantham, in January while its store in Linthorpe Village, Middlesbrough closed the same month.
Meanwhile, its shop in Lodge Lane, Bridgnorth, closed in January and its Folkestone Central Train station branch shut for renovation.
However, in March, Co-op opened six new stores.
House of Fraser
House of Fraser is set to shut up shop in two more locations as it battles to keep a presence in the retail sector.
The chain’s department store in Solihull is now expected to close in July.
In November, House of Fraser closed its Westfield branch in Shepherd’s Bush, while its department store in High Wycombe shut for good in January.
It also closed its department store in Cardiff in the iconic Howells building after launching a major clearance sale back in February.
Birmingham’s city-centre Hosue of Fraser has even been turned into an outlet and had its retail footprint cut by half.
While Frasers Group won’t confirm if the store is closing permanently, the outlet is filled with signs that read “all stock must go.”
Iceland
Iceland is popular among customers looking to shop for less, but you may want to check if your local is set to close for good.
The supermarket has announced it will be shutting some stores this year and here’s a full list:
Swansea (July 29)Fife (August 12)Llanelli (September 2)Birkenhead (September 16)Crewe (September 16)
Despite the closures, Iceland still runs around 500 branches and 153 Food Warehouse stores in the UK.
Poundstretcher
Poundstretcher is shutting more locations after pulling the shutters down on several others already this year.
The following stores will close later on this year in:
London Road, Grantham (no date)White River Place, St Austell (no date)
Poundstretcher has not given exact dates for the last day of trading of either branch, and declined to comment on the closures.
It follows a handful of other locations shutting up shop in recent weeks.
The Hawley Retail Park store in Hinckley shut last week, on Saturday, July 8.
Poundstretcher also closed its Penzance shop in Cornwall on Wednesday, July 5.
Its Churchill Way Retail Park store in Leyland also shut for good on Friday, June 23.
But Poundstretcher is in the middle of expanding its presence on the high street.
In February it revealed plans to open 50 new stores by the of the year.
Shoezone
Shoezone will pull the shutters down on four more of its stores in its latest round of closures.
The popular retailer, which has more than 300 stores, will close branches in the following locations later this year:
Edinburgh (July)Newport High Street, Isle of Wight (September)Hinckley (no date)Beccles (no date)
The high street chain has already closed multiple branches this year, including in Northampton and Bristol.
Swift (Iceland)
Iceland is closing all its Swift convenience shops in:
Four Land Ends, Newcastle Upon TyneFinsbury Park, LondonWembley, MiddlesexHounslow, MiddlesexArchway, London
Iceland’s Swift stores sell a full range of store cupboard essentials as well as chilled and fresh food.
Shoppers can also buy ready-to-eat foods and alcohol and tobacco.
It also stocks frozen food but with less of a focus on that than Iceland’s standard stores.
But now, the supermarket chain is to close all five of its Swift stores, with one set to be converted into a standard Iceland store.
There are expected to be no redundancies, with all staff set to be offered a transfer to another nearby store.