Big high street retailer to shut another store next week after several closures this year – is your local affected?
A BIG high street retailer will close another store next week after shutting several shops earlier this year.
Argos will close its standalone store in Birkenhead, Merseyside by the end of the month.
The store which is currently located in the Pyramids Shopping Centre will close to shoppers for the final time on Wednesday, March 22.
It comes after The Sun revealed a raft of Argos branch closures last month.
The brand is moving away from the high street and expanding its presence in supermarkets, with concessions inside branches.
Cardiff Bay's Argos will close in July - but Sainsbury's has not yet given an exact date.
Read more in money
Argos will then close its Newport, Wales branch later on in the summer.
It comes after Argos closed its Coatbridge branch in Lanarkshire on March 11.
Two standalone Argos branches also closed in January in Coventry and Nottingham.
Sainsbury's also announced it will shut all its 34 stores in the Republic of Ireland.
Most read in Money
The retailer previously told The Sun that by end of March 2023, it will have opened 25 Argos locations inside Sainsbury's stores.
By March 2024 it expects to have 160 standalone stores and between 430 and 460 Argos counters inside Sainsbury’s supermarkets.
A spokesperson for Argos who confirmed the Birkenhead closure said: "In recent months we have been consulting with our colleagues at Birkenhead Argos following the difficult decision to close the store.
"We understand this will be an unsettling time for those affected and we are supporting them in every way we can.
"This has included exploring opportunities for our colleagues to redeploy within Argos and Sainsbury’s.
"We regularly review our property estate and the decision to close a store is never taken lightly and is based on a range of factors."
Late last month Sainsbury’s announced plans to close two Argos warehouse locations.
The supermarket will close a warehouse in Basildon, Essex, and one in Heywood, Greater Manchester.
Both of the locations serve Argos stores in the South East and North respectively, rather than fulfilling online orders for customers.
The sites are set to close by 2026 and are expected to affect 1,400 jobs.
Staff impacted by the plans work for Sainsbury's and Wincanton, a logistics company.
They will have the opportunity to look for alternative roles within Sainsbury’s and Argos.
Sainsbury's has owned Argos since 2016 after a £1.4billion takeover.
The supermarket also announced that it will close its three remaining Habitat shops.
The homeware brand is now sold largely online and in Sainsbury's stores.
Three remaining shops in Brighton, Leeds and White City's Westfield will close by the end of 2023.
Other retail closures
Retailers have been feeling the pinch since the pandemic while shoppers are cutting back spending due to soaring inflation.
When prices are going up it squeezes people's incomes, meaning many are forced to shop less - and that's bad news for shops, restaurants and pubs.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
High energy costs and a shift to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
We've listed all of the shops and chains closing down this year.