SHOPPERS were saddened to see a beloved high street brand close down for good today.
It came as a blow to entertainment fans to see their GAME branch in Grimsby pull the shutters down for the final time.
The retailer shocked loyal customers with their announcement in February, which was closely followed by a huge “everything must go” sale.
Disappointed shoppers raced to make the most of 20 per cent discounts before waving goodbye to the popular branch this morning.
A spokesperson for Frasers Group, who own GAME, said: “It is with regret that we announce GAME Rhyl will be closing in Spring.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff for their hard work and dedication.
“Where possible, we are committed to finding new roles within the Group for staff.”
It comes after the GAME store shut up shop in 2018, but was saved months later, as reported by Grimsby Live.
Unfortunately, multiple branches have bitten the dust in recent months, including those in Exeter, Witney and Huntingdon.
Meanwhile, two were closed last year in Plymouth and Cambridge.
The Frasers Group also own Sports Direct, a brand that has similarly seen a string of closures.
A branch in Stroud, Gloucestershire, will be pulling the shutters down for good at the end of March.
The sports retailer, which runs over 500 stores in the UK, also closed down a store at the Orbital Shopping Park in Swindon early this year.
The company previously shut a shop in the Central Six Retail Park in Coventry in October last year, and one in Blackpool the following month.
Meanwhile, Sports Direct Fitness, owned by Sports Direct, shut its Salisbury site for good on December 11 to the shock of members.
It comes as thousands of high street stores have waved goodbye in an epidemic of closures across the UK.
Even industry giants have fallen victim in recent months.
British retailers saw the amount of goods they sold drop last month at its fastest rate in three years.
Sales volumes dipped by 3.2% in December, data according to the Office for National Statistics, down from a rise of 1.4% a month before.
The Body Shop bosses recently called in administrators with a “significant number” of jobs and shops at risk as the brand is set to begin an insolvency processes.
Meanwhile, popular beauty retailer Boots has also sadly announced it will be closing 300 shops this year, following several closures in 2023.
And, discount food shop Lidl, have also seen their fair share of locations shut down.
The full list, of which there are 1,168 locations, includes sites across all areas of Great Britain – including: 66 in Scotland, 83 in Yorkshire, 83 in central England, 91 in south London and 42 in south-mid Wales.
Bargain hunters were also devastated to learn the discount retailer B&M closed yet another shop.
Meanwhile, Argos, Next, Jack Wills and Poundland have all announced they will shut selected branches forever this year.
It follows the rising cost of living, energy bills soaring and even some businesses continuing to feel the knock-on effect from the Pandemic.
Shoppers have been forced to slash their spending while the cost of running stores has also increased.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) this summer found the UK had lost 6,000 stores over a five-year period.