CLOSING TIME
Major high street brand with 700 stores to shut two ‘excellent’ branches in DAYS as shoppers sob ‘not another one’
Shoppers have been left disappointed by the closures
A MAJOR high street brand with 700 branches in the country is shutting two stores in days, leaving shoppers disappointed.
The company has confirmed its shops in Chard, Somerset, and Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, will be closing their doors over the next two weeks.
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The Chard store will close on Wednesday, August 14, and after that date the closest location for customers will be Honiton, East Devon, which is 13.5 miles away.
The shop in Frinton-on-Sea will shut on Wednesday, August 21, with the closest store located 7.35 miles away, in Clacton-on-Sea.
The closures have left shoppers disappointed, as one wrote on Facebook: "Received an email to say Holland and Barrett in Chard are closing down."
One replied: "This is sad, I worked there when it first opened."
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Another added: "That's a shame. Another empty shop."
A person said: "Another store bites the dust..xx"
Someone else commented: "It's a competitive market they're in with supermarkets, Superdrug, Boots, Amazon and eBay all selling similar stuff, usually cheaper.
"Chard is a town where folks are price sensitive and shop around.
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"Holland and Barrett aren't the cheapest so folks go elsewhere.
"That's just the way it is."
Alternatives to shut stores
A spokesperson for Holland and Barrett told The Sun that the closures are part of a "location review".
They said H&B has worked with staff individually and, where possible, they have taken roles in other nearby stores.
The company said it is investing £70million in transforming its stores, technology and developing new products for customers.
H&B said its regular review of locations includes "opening new stores, consolidating some smaller stores into one larger store, and in some instances closing stores where there is no longer strong customer demand."
The spokesperson said 200 new stores are being opened and renovated in the UK.
They added: "We look forward to welcoming our customers from our other locations soon.
"We are pleased to share our has just launched online and in stores to shop unmissable offers on 1000s of products and brands you love."
Some retailers have closed a few branches in some parts of the country for various reasons, for example when a store lease has come to an end.
Other examples of one-off rather than widespread closures is if there are changes in the area, such as a shopping centre closing, and in some cases a shop will close to relocate to another area.
Some chains have faced tougher conditions though, forcing them to shut dozens of stores, or all of them in the worst case.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre's director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is "less bad" than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
"The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend," Prof Bamfield said.
"Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult."
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023's biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
Earlier this year, H&B announced it would introduce a Women’s Health Coach to 600 of its 800 UK stores.
The company is committing to helping women understand their hormone health better in order to relieve symptoms of PMS, menopause and pregnancy, or simply understand themselves more.
It comes against a backdrop of woeful education - and information - about women’s hormone health over their lifetime.
Lina Chan, Women’s Health Director at Holland & Barrett, said: “Women’s health has been under-served for too long.
“Being on every high street, we are ideally placed within the community to support and help add quality years to life and truly champion wellness for all women.
“Our new long-term commitment will start by empowering women to understand their hormones, so they are in control of their marvellous bodies.
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“Understanding and optimising the menstrual cycle can unlock a lot of the mysteries about women’s health and even help improve other areas of their wellness such as gut health, energy, sleep, skin and metabolism.
“By proactively engaging with our hormone health we can also better understand gynaecological conditions, fertility and the menopause as hormones sit at the core of these various life transitions where women can experience severe symptoms.”
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