Iconic department store chain to shut in fresh wave of high street store closures

Iconic department store chain to shut in fresh wave of high street store closures (Image: Getty)

A fresh wave of store closures will plague Britons after a busy summer saw the likes of Boots, Co-op, Poundland, B&M, Card Factory, B&Q and Peacocks close.

Since autumn arrived, the same has been true for other iconic high street names, including Trespass, Game, Cineworld, Tesco, Wetherspoons, and Marks and Spencer, which just days ago shut a long-standing branch in Crawley.

The challenging high street landscape has been blamed for many closures as retailers contend with high rent rates and changing shopping habits.

These challenges have prompted mass store closures, as revealed by PwC, which recorded 6,945 closures in the first six months of the year.

While half of all net closures were concentrated in just three categories—chemists, chain pubs and banks, department stores, and supermarkets—they are also among those widely affected. This is evident in upcoming closures as Co-op and House of Fraser prepare to lose branches from their store portfolios.

House of Fraser has closed several stores in recent months (Image: Getty)

The iconic department store started as a small drapery shop in Glasgow in 1849 and has grown to be one of the biggest department stores in the UK.

Renowned for its offering of fashion, beauty, home and accessories by premium brands, the retailer peaked in 2018 with 59 stores, but this had almost halved by October 2023.

Shoppers close to the Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent are the latest to lose their local House of Fraser as it prepares to shut on November 27.

Fraser’s has operated out of a large unit spread over two shopping centre floors at Bluewater for 25 years.

In October 2023, the CEO of Frasers Group confirmed that all remaining House of Fraser stores will either close or be converted to Frasers.

High streets are becoming increasingly empty as shopping habits change (Image: Getty)

Co-op

The Central England Co-op is independent of the Co-operative Group but is part of the wider co-operative movement that serves its members and customers.

However, 19 locations across Middle England have been earmarked for closure because they have been "financially unsustainable for some time".

16 Co-op stores will be sold to Samy Limited, an independent convenience chain currently operating 32 Budgens, Spar, Londis, and Premier stores across the UK.

The remaining three branches (Cromer, Norfolk, Erdington in the West Midlands, and Shepshed in Leicestershire) will be sold to B&M and re-opened under the brand name.

Central Co-op stores closing

• Barnby Dun, High Street - South Yorkshire
• Broughton, High St – Northamptonshire
• Croft, Pochin Street – Leicestershire
• Desborough, Hill Top, Braybrooke Road – Northamptonshire
• Dudley, Overfield Road - West Midlands
• Eastwood, Nottingham Road – Nottinghamshire
• Enderby, Mill Lane – Leicestershire
• Kingstanding, Hawthorn Road - West Midlands
• Leicester, Evington Rd – Leicestershire
• Leicester, Narborough Rd – Leicestershire
• Narborough, Station Road – Leicestershire
• Peterborough, Mayors Walk – Cambridgeshire
• Sprowston, Chartwell Road – Norfolk
• Stafford, Baswich Lane – Staffordshire
• Wigston, Blaby Road – Leicestershire
• Yardley, Stoney Lane - West Midlands
• Cromer, Middlebrook Way – Norfolk
• Erdington, High Street - West Midlands
• Shepshed, Hallcroft – Leicestershire

Millets will re-open some stores under the GO Outdoors brand (Image: Getty)

Millets

The outdoor retailer has launched huge clearance sales at six stores, offering 30 percent off all stock before the branches close.

Branches in Lowestoft, York, Douglas and Grimsby have been earmarked for re-opening under the sister brand to Millets, ‘GO Outdoors’. However, the shop in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, will close permanently, and there are no plans to reinstate it.

Evans Cycles

British 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.

The branch already has “closing down” posters in the windows advertising 20 percent off selected stock.