OUT OF FASHION
Outdoor clothing chain with 67 branches launches huge clearance sale ahead of closing six high street stores
Check if one is going near you
A POPULAR outdoor clothing chain is set to close six stores and has launched a huge closing down sale at each branch.
Millets has launched clearance sales at six of its stores in recent weeks, and shoppers can get 30% off all stock.
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All of the affected are expected to close early in the New Year.
However, four of these locations will be reopened and rebranded as GO Outdoors, a sister brand to Millets.
These include sites in Lowestoft, Douglas, York and Grimsby.
Millets in Burgess Hill, West Sussex will not be rebranded and is set to close permanently in January.
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Millets stocks big-name brands, including the likes of Berghaus, The North Face and Jack Wolfskin.
As of November 11, the retailer operates 67 branches across the UK.
The rebranding of the three stores to Go Outdoors sites indicates that JD Outdoors, the owner of Millets, is prioritising the expansion of its sister brand.
Founded in Sheffield in 1998, the company has swiftly risen to become one of the most recognised names in the outdoor retail market.
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There are now 96 Go Outdoors sites across the county.
Like Millets, GO Outdoors offers everything needed for camping trips and other outdoor activities, stocking the same big brands.
HISTORY OF MILLETS
MILLETS, a staple in the outdoor clothing and equipment market, has a rich history dating back to its founding in 1893.
Originally established in Southampton, the store began as a drapery business before evolving to specialise in camping and outdoor gear.
Over the decades, Millets expanded its product range to include various outdoor clothing, footwear, and equipment, catering to adventurers and outdoor enthusiasts.
In the mid-20th century, the brand gained popularity for its quality products and reliable customer service, leading to the opening of numerous stores across the UK.
Millets became synonymous with outdoor exploration, from camping and hiking to mountaineering and beyond.
In 1986, it formed Millets Leisure plc.
This became the Outdoor Group in 1996 with 158 stores, which was bought by Blacks Leisure plc in 1999.
In recent years, Millets has continued to adapt to the changing retail landscape, embracing online shopping while maintaining a strong high street presence.
Despite facing challenges in the competitive market, the brand remains a go-to destination for outdoor gear and is known for its commitment to quality and customer satisfaction.
Today, Millets is part of the JD Sports Fashion plc group.
However, unlike Millets, GO Outdoors offers a Membership Card, which grants access to unbeatable prices across various departments. The card can be purchased online or in-store for just £5 a year.
It can be purchased online or in-store for just £5 a year.
With the membership card, customers can access exclusive discounts and a price match guarantee, ensuring they always receive the best deal.
Lee Bagnall, CEO of JD Outdoors, said: "We always aim to provide the best possible experience for our customers, so by converting these stores to a GO Express, customers will be able to benefit from the GO Outdoors loyalty programme, which offers exclusive and more affordable prices for members."
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HIGH STREET WOES
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 two years, and more are coming.
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.
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Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023's biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
However, The Centre for Retail Research said that most store closures relate to companies trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun's business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks &; Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.
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