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A DISCOUNT store with astir 200 branches has confirmed the closure of different subdivision amid a shingle up.
The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) volition adjacent a subdivision successful Great Harwood successful Lancashire aboriginal this month.
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Fans person lamented the closure of the "lovely" store, which they said had "amazing" staff.
Commenting connected a societal media station confirming the closure 1 said: "Such a nonaccomplishment to our small town, not lone the store but the astir amazingly helpful, hardworking, friendly, dedicated squad of astonishing staff."
Another said: "Sorry to perceive it....it's specified a beauteous store to potter round."
A 3rd added: "Great nonaccomplishment to Gt. Harwood and surrounding area."
Explaining the reasons for the closure a spokesperson from TOFS said: “We tin corroborate that sadly we volition beryllium exiting our store successful Great Harwood connected February 28, aft the landlord served a interruption to extremity the lease of this store early.
"We are moving hard to enactment the colleagues that volition beryllium affected and are seeking to redeploy them crossed our business."
The Great Harwood store has launched a clearance sale up of the closure with up to 50% disconnected prices.
The discount store's nearest subdivision for shoppers successful the country volition past beryllium successful Clitheroe, six miles from the closed shop.
This closure is the effect of a landlord ending the lease, but determination has been speculation astir the aboriginal of the wider concern successful caller months.
Despite a hunt astatine the extremity of 2024 the discount retailer did not negociate to unafraid a buyer, raising concerns astir its future.
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It's understood that Teneo, a strategical advisory firm, was subsequently called successful to research each options, including different effort to flog the chain.
It was understood that the imaginable of store closures oregon a institution restructuring could besides beryllium considered.
In December a spokesperson for the retailer said: "The Original Factory Shop has been offering communities a large scope of products astatine unbeatable worth since 1969.
"Like galore retailers, the institution continually reviews its outlook and is exploring a scope of strategical options.
"The business continues to commercialized arsenic mean and is expected to execute good implicit the busy Christmas period."
A woody with Baaj Capital could beryllium close, Sky News reported astatine the extremity of January.
It's important to enactment that strategical options tin mean a assortment of antithetic things, and for now, each shops are unfastened for concern arsenic usual.
The marque presently trades from 187 stores crossed the UK.
TOFS has unopen 10 of its shops implicit the past 12 months and these were located in:
- Brightlingsea, Essex
- Bodmin, Cornwall
- Chepstow, Wales
- Fakenham, Norfolk
- Harwich, Essex
- Mildenhall, Suffolk
- Padiham, Lancashire
- Taunton, Somerset
- Deal, Kent
- Haverfordwest, Wales
Last twelvemonth wasn't the archetypal clip TOFS has been connected the market.
In 2023, existent owners Duke Street Capital, who've been astatine the helm since 2007, tried to merchantability up done Deloitte, but nary woody was struck.
Back successful 2013, the concatenation was valued astatine implicit £100million, but much caller fiscal results showed a dip successful some gross and profits.
The concern ended the twelvemonth to March 2023 with a pre-tax nonaccomplishment of £286,000.
Despite the closures, the retail concatenation besides opened 27 stores successful 2024 and inactive has plans to proceed its "store transformation" programme this year.
Here is simply a afloat database of stores that person opened since August 2023:
- Kirkintilloch - opened August 24
- Stonehaven - opened August 31
- Blandford Forum - opened August 31
- Haddington - opened September 7
- Wetherby - opened September 7
- Nairn - opened September 14
- Ashbourne - opened September 14
- Castle Douglas - opened September 21
- Penrith - opened September 21
- Inverness - opened September 28
- Attleborough - opened September 28
- Ayr - opened October 5
- Ringwood - opened October 5
- Perth - opened October 12
- Lanark - opened October 19
- Peterhead - opened October 26
HISTORY OF THE ORIGINAL FACTORY SHOP
FOUNDED successful 1969 by the Black household successful Keighley, the archetypal store was portion of Peter Black's retail network.
Initially, it focused connected selling surplus soap produced by 1 of Black's factories, offering section communities large value.
Over the years, TOFS evolved from its humble beginnings, expanding its merchandise scope to see clothing, homeware, quality products, toys, and more.
It became known for offering a divers enactment of well-known brands astatine discounted prices.
The institution grew steadily, reaching 185 stores by 2011 and expanding its office and warehouse successful Burnley to accommodate its expanding needs.
In 2007, the concatenation was acquired by backstage equity steadfast Duke Street Capital.
Since then, TOFS has undergone assorted transformations, including store closures and openings, arsenic it adapted to the changing retail landscape.
What other is happening connected the precocious street?
High thoroughfare retailers person struggled successful caller years arsenic shoppers progressively crook to online retail.
High energy costs and business rates person deed retailers hard.
This has near immoderate businesses grappling with budgets and having nary prime but to close stores to chopped costs.
Many Brits person turned to second-hand outlets specified arsenic Vinted and eBay, making things adjacent harder for charity shops.
Several well-known large brands person fallen into medication including Wilko and Paperchase.
Last year, Homebase said it would enactment 74 sites up for merchantability aft it crashed into administration.
However, its administrators were capable to onslaught a woody to merchantability the business to retail group CDS, which owns bargain chains The Range and Wilko.
This secured the jobs of 1,600 employees and 70 stores - each of which are acceptable to beryllium rebranded as The Range shops.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops person go an eyesore connected galore British precocious streets and are often symbolic of a municipality centre’s decline.
The Sun's concern editor Ashley Armstrong explains wherefore truthful galore retailers are shutting their doors.
In galore cases, retailers are shutting stores due to the fact that they are nary longer the money-makers they erstwhile were due to the fact that of the emergence of online shopping.
Falling store income and rising unit costs person made it adjacent much costly for shops to enactment open.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to leader NICs from April 2025, volition outgo the retail assemblage £2.3billion.
At the aforesaid time, the minimum wage volition emergence to £12.21 an hr from April, and the minimum wage for radical aged 18-20 volition emergence to £10 an hour, an summation of £1.40.
In immoderate cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a caller store astatine the different extremity of a precocious thoroughfare to bespeak however a municipality has changed.
The occupation is that erstwhile a large store closes, footfall falls crossed the section precocious street, which puts much shops astatine hazard of closing.
Retail parks are progressively fashionable with shoppers, who privation to beryllium capable to get easy, escaped parking astatine a clip erstwhile section councils person hiked parking charges successful towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer person been shutting stores connected the precocious thoroughfare and taking bigger stores successful better-performing retail parks instead.
In immoderate cases, stores person been unopen erstwhile a retailer goes bust, arsenic successful the lawsuit of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko to sanction a few.
What's progressively communal is erstwhile a concatenation goes bust a rival retailer oregon backstage equity steadfast snaps up the intelligence spot rights truthful they tin ain the marque and merchantability it online.
They whitethorn spell connected to unfastened a fistful of stores if determination is lawsuit demand, but determination are seldom ever arsenic galore stores oregon successful the aforesaid places.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that astir 17,350 retail sites are expected to unopen down this year.
Do you person a wealth occupation that needs sorting? Get successful interaction by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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