Due to the cost of living crisis, department stores have experienced reduced footfall and falling revenues, and big names like Boots, Marks and Spencer, WHSmith and House of Fraser have taken steps to reduce their portfolios. stores.

The shift in shopping habits has been accelerated by several factors, one of them being that consumers have less disposable income and high retail rents are making finances more difficult to balance.

Data from the Center for Retail Research revealed that almost 10,500 UK stores will close permanently in 2023, leading to the loss of more than 119,000 jobs in the sector.

According to the center’s data, an additional 8,543 store closures and more than 130,000 retail job losses have been recorded this year. This trend is expected to continue through 2025, with Homebase and Millets among the sites closing their sites in the coming months.

While some branches will be replaced with larger, improved stores, others will be eliminated permanently.

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The Range recently saved 70 of Homebase’s 140 stores from closure after going into administration, and six of them will close in December.

Stock has been heavily reduced with 60 per cent off at Homebase in Sutton Coldfield, Bromsgrove, Cromer, Fareham, Newark and Rugby.

Three other Homebase sites, in Derry/Londonderry, Inverurie and Omagh, will also close later this year, along with a branch in Glenrothes, near Fife.

The total ten stores were to be closed after Sainsbury’s agreed to acquire them from Homebase in August, with plans to convert the units into new supermarkets.

Since its takeover by Hilco Capital in 2018, which bought Homebase for just £1, 93 stores have closed.

Select

Clothing giant Select will close its branch at The Mall, Cwmbran, Wales, this December. Select operates over 100 stores across the UK, including branches in Manchester, Bolton and Sunderland.

The impending closure was announced on social media, leaving shoppers and staff devastated. A post on the retailer’s Facebook page lamented: “It’s heartbreaking to write this – but Select Cwmbran is closing. Our last day will be December 4th or 5th.”

Select has been a staple since the 1980s, but has experienced lease renewal issues at its Cwmbran store, so it will close soon.

It follows a series of closures for the fashion brand, including stores in County Square Shopping Centre, Ipswich and Coventry earlier this year.

Millets

Outdoor enthusiasts in York will see changes as Millets prepares to close its Market Street store in December, with plans to transform it into a Go Outdoors Express outlet in the new year.

Both brands are owned by JD Outdoors and CEO Lee Bagnall sees the closure as a positive move for customers.

In a statement, he enthused: “We always aim to provide the best possible experience for our customers. So, by converting this store into a GO Express, customers will be able to benefit from the GO Outdoors loyalty program, which offers exclusive and more affordable offers. prices for members.

A second Millets store in Burgess Hill will close in the coming weeks after the lease was not renewed.

“This involves four colleagues and we are working with them to see if there are alternative positions available in other local JDGroup stores,” the company said.

Elsewhere, Millets stores in Halifax and Cheltenham also closed recently.