SHUTTING UP SHOP
Outdoor clothing chain with over 100 branches launches huge closing down sale as two town centre stores set to shut
It comes after a series of closures across the country in recent weeks
A POPULAR outdoor clothing chain with more than 100 branches has announced the surprise closures of two stores.
The shop has been up and running for more than 20 years in one location - and is known to stock popular products from brands including Berghaus, The North Face, and Salomon.
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Millets on Market Street, York, was pictured with signs that read "all stock must go" with 30% off on "absolutely everything".
The much-loved shop's closure will come as a huge blow to people who rely on the branch for camping essentials.
Customers will now have to visit the nearest Millets shops in Beverley and Scarborough to shop for camping essentials.
The reason behind the store closure is yet to be revealed.
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It comes after a handful of closures of Millets stores across the country in recent weeks, including Sussex, Halifax and Cheltenham.
Meanwhile a Millets branch at Burgess Hill - one of the 100 stores across the nation - is also set to close for good.
A source close to the store said: "We decided not to renew the lease at our Burgess Hill store which had come up for renewal.
"This affects four colleagues, and we are working with them to see if there are alternative roles available at other local JDGroup stores."
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Shoppers were left crying to hear about the shocking store closure. There's also a 30% off closing down sale.
They will now have to visit the nearby branches at Horsham GO Outdoors Express, Uckfield Millets or Brighton Millets.
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It comes after a ShoeZone branch in Burgess Hill, was pictured with large "Closing Down Soon" banners.
The pictures were posted on the local Facebook page Burgess Hill Uncovered.
The caption read: "Shoe Zone are not renewing their lease at Market Place Shopping Centre, therefore the store will be closing in the near future. Sorry to hear this for the staff."
Clintons also closed its branch nearby in Bexhill town centre, East Sussex, for good after trading ended in August.
Locals took to Facebook after hearing the news in May which some say was disappointing.
One Facebook user said: “Such a shame that Bexhill is losing another shop.”
“I wouldn’t buy from anywhere else,” said a shopper on Google.
“It's a wonderful shop,” said another shopper.
Costa Coffee pulled down the shutters on its cafe in The Martlets, Burgess Hill early this year.
Shoppers in East Grinstead, West Sussex, also lost their Homebase store in August.
Some retailers have closed a few branches here and there for various reasons, like when a store lease has come to an end.
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Other examples of one-off rather than widespread closures is if there are changes in the area, like 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.
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