Thousands of high-street stores have shut their doors for good this year, with a staggering 6,945 closures in the first six months of 2024 alone, according to a damning report by PwC. This represents a worrying increase of two store closures per day compared to the 36 daily average recorded last year.
The list of casualties includes big-name brands such as Marks and Spencer, Homebase, and House of Fraser, which have all confirmed store closures this month. The retail bloodbath is set to continue into 2025, with WHSmith and Co-op announcing plans to shut branches across the UK.
Central Co-op, a major supermarket chain, will offload 19 stores in the next six months, following the closure of four branches earlier this year that were sold to Tesco. Meanwhile, WHSmith will close its seventh store within a year, with a popular shopping centre branch in Hampshire set to shut its doors in the New Year, reports the Express.
Co-op
Central England Co-operative, which trades as Central Co-op, is a regional consumer co-operative based in Lichfield, operating 200 food stores across the English Midlands and East Anglia. Despite being independent of the Co-operative Group, it is part of the wider co-operative movement serving its members and customers.
However, several locations across Middle England have been earmarked for closure due to being "financially unsustainable for some time". Barnby Dun, Leicester, Stafford, and Peterborough are among the 19 branches shutting down in the coming months.
Of these, 16 will be sold to Samy Limited, an independent convenience chain operating 32 Budgens, Spar, Londis, and Premier stores across the UK. The remaining three branches will be sold to B&M and re-open as new sites for the home retail brand.
These include current Central Co-op shops in Cromer, Norfolk, Erdington in the West Midlands and Shepshed in Leicestershire. As for job losses, the retailer claimed that it was confident that staff at the 19 stores would be offered new roles as part of the sales process.
WHSmith
WHSmith has announced that its Basingstoke branch will close at the beginning of 2025 after more than 50 years of trade. The stationery store inside The Malls shopping centre will close on February 1, the Basingstoke Gazette reported.
Shoppers can bag a bargain at one of the many in-store sales launched over the next few weeks ahead of the store's closure. According to the local paper, some stock is being sold at a 30 percent discount.
Five sites were axed by the retailer earlier this year.
However, it's not all bad news for fans of the stationery giant. Some new stores are opening as WHSmith moves away from old-format high street stores and instead focuses on travel hubs, such as train stations and airports.
The firm's accounts reveal that travel sales surged 15 percent over the same period, starkly contrasting to a three percent dip in revenue for its high street portfolio.
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