Iconic high street chain to close 17 shops with ‘everything must go’ sales launched and days left for one branch

AN iconic precocious thoroughfare concatenation is acceptable to unopen a full of 17 shops implicit the coming months, with 1 closing successful a substance of days.

WHSmith has been announcing the closures implicit the past fewer months.

The retail brand, which runs implicit 1,100 stores, has closed dozens of stores since 2023, with much to travel implicit the next fewer months.

All of the closures are dispersed crossed the state and volition beryllium shutting betwixt present and May.

It comes aft the concatenation confirmed successful November that WHSmith has nary plans to grow its beingness connected the precocious thoroughfare and volition alternatively proceed to adjacent up to 20 stores each twelvemonth implicit the adjacent three.

Although the concatenation besides plans to unfastened 90 sites implicit the adjacent 3 years.

Two of the sites closed conscionable yesterday aft holding large closing down sales.

WHSmith on Bournemouth high thoroughfare offered shoppers the accidental to snap up discounts of up to 50% disconnected earlier it unopen forever.

The newsagent and stationery giant's past time of commercialized was January 18.

Locals were speedy to stock their devastation erstwhile the news was announced.

One said: "Another store closing truthful bittersweet to spot this."

While a 2nd added: "Another 1 bites the particulate present successful Bournemouth it's astir a shade town."

A spokesperson for WHSmith told The Sun it was "disappointed" to beryllium closing the subdivision connected Old Christchurch Road but it was "no longer sustainable" to commercialized from the location.

Another tract unopen its doors for the past clip successful Luton.

The Luton Point buying centre store was described by the retailer arsenic "no longer sustainable to proceed to commercialized from".

WHSmith said unit would beryllium supported and redeployed to adjacent stores wherever possible.

A 3rd tract is besides earmarked for closure successful January too.

The store successful the municipality of March, Cambridgeshire will unopen its doors connected January 25.

More than 20,000 residents successful the country volition suffer retired connected entree to the WHSmith branch erstwhile it shuts its doors for the last time.

Many radical took to Facebook to explicit their vexation with the closure and the authorities of the town's precocious street.

One idiosyncratic said: "I knew this would happen. God, our precocious thoroughfare is dying...all That enactment seems similar specified a monolithic waste.

"And connected apical of that, much jobs going. I anticipation each the unit find enactment ASAP."

Once closed, the nearest WHSmith subdivision disposable to locals volition beryllium successful Wisbech, Ely and Peterborough among different areas.

Not lone that but different 5 branches volition shutter successful February, followed by 1 successful March.

A further 5 WHSmith stores volition adjacent their doors successful April, past 2 successful May.

A azygous tract successful Orpington is expected to unopen successful the adjacent fewer months, though nary day has been fixed yet.

Several of the shops that volition beryllium shutting their doors person launched "everything-must-go" income truthful if 1 is closing successful your country it whitethorn beryllium worthy checking for immoderate bargains.

Here is the afloat database of WHSmith closures taking spot successful 2025 truthful far:

• Bournemouth Old Christchurch Road, Dorset - January 18
• Luton, Bedfordshire - January 18
• March, Cambridgeshire - January 25
• Basingstoke, Hampshire - February 1
• Newtown, Powys - February 15
• Winton subdivision successful Bournemouth, Dorset - February 15
• Rhyl, Denbighshire - February 15
• Bolton, Greater Manchester - February
• Accrington, Lancashire - March 15
• Halstead, Essex - April
• Halesowen, West Midlands - April
• Diss, Norfolk - April
• Newport, Isle of Wight - April
• Haverhill, Suffolk - April 26
• Stockton, County Durham - May
• Oldham, Greater Manchester - May
• Orpington, Greater London - nary day fixed yet

Which stores person already closed?

Over the past 2 years, WHSmith has shuttered 10 stores, including locations in Manchester, Bicester, Somerset, and Sale.

In June 2023, WHSmith confirmed it would not beryllium opening immoderate much precocious thoroughfare branches in a stroke for shoppers.

The retailer said opening much precocious thoroughfare stores would "just beryllium a duplication".

It added it intended to absorption connected expanding its portfolio extracurricular the sector.

Here's the afloat database of stores which person closed implicit the past fewer years:

• Crewe, Cheshire - March, 2023
• Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire - March, 2023
• Bicester, Oxfordshire - August, 2023
• Manchester - December 2, 2023
• Alfreton, Derbyshire - January, 2024
• Ramsgate, Kent - January, 2024
• Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland - February, 2024
• Nantwich, South Cheshire - February, 2024
• Margate, Kent - April 20, 2024
• Sale, Manchester - September 2024
• Bournemouth - October, 2024

Despite the closures, WHSmith inactive operates implicit 1,100 stores crossed the UK and remains focused connected its enlargement plans.

The retailer announced the opening of 110 caller shops successful 2024, with 15 successful the UK and implicit 50 successful the US.

Many of these caller outlets are located successful airports, railway stations, and hospitals.

WHSmith has besides introduced a series of Toys R Us concessions successful its UK stores, portion of its strategy to accommodate to evolving marketplace trends.

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