DEVASTATED shoppers cried “we won’t have anything” as several ‘lifeline’ M&S stores pull down their shutters permanently TOMORROW.
Loyal customers will be forced to wave goodbye to two beloved M&S sites tomorrow – including a 111-year-old branch.
The company first announced their Walworth store was at risk of closing in March earlier this year.
It has officially been confirmed the location will be gone forever on June 8 – leaving shoppers heartbroken.
The popular site has been dedicated to serving locals for 111 years and news of its departure sent shock waves through the community.
One penned their frustrations on social media and wrote: “It’s so depressing to lose it.”
Another shared: “We won’t have anything down Walworth Road soon very sad.”
“That store was part of my childhood – my great nan would go there after her trip down the Lane on pension day and buy little treats,” agreed a third.
Someone else added: “This is so sad. Growing up in Walworth in the 1960s and 70s the M&S store was at the heart of the community.”
Gordon Scott, M&S regional manager, said: “We would like to thank all of our customers who have shopped in the store over the years, who we will keep serving up until closure and beyond that, from our other stores nearby and across London.
“After consulting with our colleagues, we have informed them of the closure and our priority now is continuing individual discussions about what this decision means for them.
“Wherever possible, we will offer them alternative roles with M&S.”
Mr Scott went on to add that M&S is rotating its store estate to make sure it has the “right stores with the right space” to offer customers a “brilliant shopping experience”.
Meanwhile, fans of an M&S branch at Kingsditch Retail Park in Cheltenham, were also saddened to hear their supermarket would be closing tomorrow.
The industry giant originally announced the store would be leaving in February.
One disappointed customer wrote on social media: “They are walking away from a lot of trade, will not be going to town to start my shopping there instead.”
Another added: “Would like to thank all the staff for all help and been very loyal to the customers. It’s a shame it’s closing.”
But, it’s not all bad news for fans as M&S plans to open a new Food Hall in the nearby Centrum Retail Park between Dunhelm and The Range next spring.
An M&S spokesman said: “Although our Kingsditch store will close this weekend, we look forward to continuing to serve customers at our city centre store and new foodhall on the adjacent retail park opening next year.”
Retailers closing stores in 2024
RETAILERS have been hit by soaring inflation and a downturn in spending due to the cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online are also taking their toll.
Some high street shops have closed due to businesses opening up in different locations such as larger retail parks.
Shops may also close due to a number of other reasons, such as rising rents.
We explain which retailers are closing in 2024:
- Argos – The brand announced plans to close 100 standalone UK branches last year as it looks to move away from the high street and focus on expanding its presence in supermarkets.
- B&Q– The chain has over 300 shops across the UK, with two stores closing this year due to leases not being renewed. It has plans to open more in 2024 too.
- Boots– The health and beauty chain announced that it would be closing 300 stores last July. Closures are ongoing and this will see the retailer’s estate reduced from 2,200 to 1,900 shops.
- Clintons – Clintons mulled plans to close 38 shops in a bid to avoid insolvency late last year. We’ve listed the stores affected.
- Costa Coffee– The caffeine giant has around 2,000 sites nationwide, so chances are you’ll have one near you. The chain has shut the doors to dozens of its sites recently. We’ve revealed which stores are due to close this year.
- Iceland – The supermarket has more than 900 stores but closed nearly two dozen sites in 2023, and more selected shops are due to shut.
- Lidl – The supermarket, which has 950 stores, is changing up shop locations, which has meant that some stores have to close. But the retailer is also looking to open 12 new supermarkets.
- M&S– M&S, which runs 405 stores across the country, has been closing a string of branches across the country in a blow for shoppers. It’s not all bad news, though, because the chain also has big plans to open dozens of new shops.
- Trespass – The firm announced in July last year that it was closing six branches, but more are on the way.
- WHSmith– The retail giant, which runs over 1,100 stores, has shut eight stores since March 2023, but more are coming.
M&S OPENINGS AND CLOSURES
It comes as the retailer revealed in 2022 their strategy to shut 67 “lower productivity” stores as part of a five-year plan to shake up its branch portfolio.
M&S, which runs 405 stores across the country, ditched locations in Manchester, Swindon and Birmingham between August and November last year.
In addition to this, 40 of the retailer’s clothing stores waved goodbye between November 2016 and July 2023.
If you want to know if your local might be next, we have the full list of M&S stores that are marked for closure in 2024.
However, in January 2023 M&S announced it would open 20 more stores over the financial year.
At the same time, it said it’s opening 104 new “bigger and fresher” food stores.
In the last 12 months, it has opened 22 sites including in Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.