Major high street department store closing shops – is one near you going for good?
A MAJOR high street department store is closing shops as sales continue to take a hit.
House of Fraser is set to shut up shop in two more locations as it battles to keep a presence in the retail sector.
In November, House of Fraser closed it's Westfield branch in Shepherd's Bush, while its department store in High Wycombe shut for good in January.
It has also been previously reported that the department store will close its Cardiff branch in the iconic Howells building after it recently launched a major clearance sale.
It follows a string of House of Fraser closures in recent months, after the retailer admitted that they are unprofitable due to business rates.
House of Fraser has also temporarily closed its Norwich store which it plans to reopen in the autumn following its refurbishment.
Read more in money
And now it's understood the Birmingham department store could also be at risk.
It has turned the city-centre store into an outlet, whilst slashing the prices of all stock with messaging that reads "all stock must go."
These big "closing down" style events usually precede a store closure, but The Sun understands that no final decision has been made on its future as of yet.
A Frasers Group spokesperson said: "We are big believers in the British High Street. When we bought House of Fraser out of administration in 2019, we knew we would have to make some tough decisions to secure its long-term, sustainable future.
Most read in Money
"Whilst a number of House of Fraser stores are closing, we are also investing heavily in many others across the UK and by the end of this year will have opened over 10 Frasers stores since acquiring the business."
It comes as JDSports completed its sale of five fashion brands to Frasers.
The Tessuti, Scotts, Choice, Giulio and Cricket brands have all been sold to the firm.
And Frasers Group has further plans to open more stores, which will include a mix of brands including Flannels and Sports Direct.
House of Fraser was saved from collapse by billionaire businessman Mike Ashley back in 2018.
But while the deal saved the chain's 59 stores and 17,000 workers who were facing the axe.
Many more stores have closed in recent years and only 30 department stores remain.
It comes as other retailers have struggled to compete with online shops and other big brands.
Just this week, clothing store M&Co announced it would be shutting all 170 of its stores this year.
The company fell into administration in December and was bought by Yours Clothing.
But only the M&Co branding was purchased - meaning the shops have not been saved.
Another popular high street store H&M also revealed it would be closing several branches.
H&M confirmed to The Sun that two branches in Hartlepool and Isle of Wight are set to close.
It hasn't given a date for when they will shut the doors for good or if workers are at risk of redundancy.
It comes just days after the high street shop shuttered its branch in Burton and another in Maidenhead.
New Look has also brought the shutters down on three of its stores in recent weeks.
Its owner Sainsbury's also revealed that Lloyd's Pharmacy is withdrawing its services from over 200 Sainsbury's stores.
Meanwhile, stationery chain Paperchase has said it's in talks with potential buyers after lining up administrators.
Major burger chain Byron Burger also recently fell into administration and is set to close nine restaurants immediately.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The owners of the chain have said the closures will result in the loss of 218 jobs.