The FIVE high street chains closing shops this weekend as 14 stores set to shut before end of the month

HIGH streets crossed the UK are facing different stroke arsenic large retailers hole to propulsion down the shutters for good.

This weekend, 5 fashionable chains volition adjacent stores, leaving shoppers without section favourites and dozens of workers facing an uncertain future.

It’s yet different motion of the challenging conditions connected the precocious street, with rising costs, reduced footfall, and changing buying habits forcing businesses to marque pugnacious decisions.

Around 13,479 precocious thoroughfare stores unopen for bully past year, according to caller probe from the Centre for Retail Research published today.

It estimates that astir 17,350 stores volition adjacent this twelvemonth arsenic higher national insurance contributions and increases successful the nationalist minimum wage instrumentality effect successful April.

Susannah Streeter, caput of wealth and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown: ‘’While large rent determination whitethorn beryllium looming for immoderate retailers, galore are besides grappling with however to woody with the other costs burdens they volition request to transportation owed to changes made successful the Budget.

The summation successful National Insurance contributions for employers, on with increases successful the minimum wage volition adhd to payroll costs.

"Some retailers whitethorn determine to walk connected terms hikes to customers, others could determine to frost recruitment, restrain wage rises, oregon adjacent shed jobs."

She added that "Consumers are besides showing much signs of caution, with a survey from GfK showing assurance successful the UK’s economical prospects has fallen back."

It's important to enactment that shops whitethorn adjacent stores owed to a fig of reasons, specified arsenic opening 1 successful a amended performing country oregon if leases expire.

Here are each the retailers that volition adjacent their stores for bully this weekend...

Nike Factory Store

The Nike Factory Store astatine Craigleith Retail Park successful Edinburgh is acceptable to adjacent its doors for the last clip connected Sunday, January 26.

The store, which offers discounted Nike footwear and clothing, has been a go-to destination for bargain hunters for years.

But it volition soon beryllium gone aft the sportswear elephantine failed to hold connected a caller lease with the landlord.

Around 30 employees volition suffer their jobs, with nary opportunities for relocation wrong Scotland.

Nike confirmed the closure successful a statement, saying: “We perpetually measure our store locations to springiness america the champion accidental to link with consumers.

"As portion of this strategy, the Nike Craigleith Store volition adjacent per January 26.”

WHSmith

Another acquainted sanction volition vanish from Cambridgeshire’s Broad Street arsenic WHSmith closes its store connected Saturday, January 25.

Customers successful March volition present person to question to Ely, St Ives, oregon Cambridge to sojourn their nearest WHSmith, arsenic the retailer continues to downsize.

A spokesperson said: “We are disappointed to beryllium losing our beingness successful March and would similar to convey our customers for their enactment implicit the years.

"We’re besides grateful to our colleagues, whom we volition enactment done this modulation and redeploy to adjacent stores wherever possible.”

This comes arsenic portion of a wider wave of WHSmith closures, with 17 different branches shutting nationwide.

New Look

Fashion retailer New Look is saying goodbye to Wickford, Essex, arsenic its municipality centre store shuts down today, January 24.

The closure comes aft much than 15 years of trading successful the area, with the landlord requesting the spot back.

The manner retailer has been battling precocious thoroughfare challenges for years, restructuring its portfolio to chopped costs.

The retailer besides unopen its Charnwood subdivision successful Loughborough, earlier this month.

New Look bosses have suggested the business will velocity up store closures with 100 branches astatine risk, pursuing a hike to National Insurance for businesses that's owed to travel successful from April.

According to The Times, astatine slightest a 4th of its 364 UK stores are astatine hazard arsenic leases expire.

FatFace

FatFace connected Ecclesall Road, Sheffield, is different casualty of the play closures.

The store, which opened successful 2004, volition unopen its doors permanently connected Sunday January 26 —or sooner if banal sells retired during its ongoing closing-down sale.

The brand, known for casual covering and outdoor wear, has been a staple connected the bustling buying thoroughfare for years, but it’s present the latest successful a enactment of closures impacting the area.

The Entertainer

In Luton, artifact store The Entertainer volition adjacent connected Saturday January 25, pursuing the closure of the town’s WHSmith and Post Office subdivision earlier this month.

A Luton Point spokesperson said: “While we’re saddened by The Entertainer’s determination to leave, we’re pleased to person Toy Town connected committee to proceed offering children’s toys.

"We’re besides moving to unafraid a caller relation for the Post Office.”

The Entertainer confirmed the decision, with caput of portion Nigel Overton saying: “We are bittersweet to beryllium closing our Luton store and convey our customers and unit for their loyalty implicit the years.”

Earlier this month, the artifact store besides announced the closure of its Croydon's Whitgift buying centre branch

What's happening connected the precocious street?

The latest question of closures adds to the thousands of shops that unopen for bully past year.

Another 14 stores are acceptable to adjacent by the extremity of this month.

Homebase has confirmed the closures of its 13 stores this month.

Elsewhere, aft a drawstring of closures successful 2024, Dobbies Garden Centre has announced it volition beryllium closing its Berkshire subdivision connected January 31.

While immoderate retailers are investing successful caller formats and locations, others are being forced to marque drastic cuts to survive.

For communities losing these stores, it’s much than conscionable an inconvenience—it’s a motion of however pugnacious things stay for Britain’s precocious streets.

Just this period shoppers saw the closure of eight large stores, including The Body Shop and Starbucks.

It comes connected the backmost of a pugnacious 2024 erstwhile 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% summation connected the erstwhile year.

Professor Joshua Bamfield, manager of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 amusement that though the outcomes for store closures wide were not arsenic mediocre arsenic successful either 2020 oregon 2022, they are inactive disconcerting, with worse acceptable to travel successful 2025."