SHUTTERS DOWN
‘There will be no shops left’ cry customers as major retailer with 60 sites to close branch in days
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SHOPPERS have shared their devastation after a major retailer will close for good in a matter of days.
Dobbies Garden Centre will close its branch in Altrincham on December 17, as part of a major restructuring plan.
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Bosses confirmed the news earlier this week and said a total of 10 sites across the UK would be closing in the coming weeks.
Locals of the Greater Manchester branch were quick to share their disappointment.
One said: "Really sorry to see Dobbies closing and I’ll very much miss my visits."
Another added: "It's such a shame for Dobbies I worked for them in a cafe and made some great friends whom I still remember with fondness."
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A third said it was another business "going out of the area, shame for the staff".
While a fourth said there would be "no more shops left in the area".
It's not the only brand locals have witnessed vanishing off the high street.
Poundland took over the former Wilko site in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, last October after Wilko went into administration.
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However, the discount retailer shut the location on George Street in the Stamford Quarter after just eight months in June.
The branch will close in just three days, giving shoppers limited time to bid their farewells and grab any last items.
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It will not be the only Dobbies store to close this month, with a number of other branches to close for good.
These include:
- Gloucester - December 15
- Gosforth - December 19
- Harlestone Heath - December 17
- Huntingdon TBC
- Inverness on December 23
- King’s Lynn - December 15
- Pennine - December 15
- Reading - December 23
- Stratford-upon-Avon on - December 23
The firm also closed six Little Dobbies sites in November.
These included:
- Little Dobbies - Bristol
- Little Dobbies - Richmond
- Little Dobbies - Cheltenham
- Little Dobbies – Edinburgh Stockbridge
- Little Dobbies - Chiswick
- Little Dobbies – Westbourne Grove
Dobbies will continue to operate around 60 stores across the UK.
TROUBLE ON THE HIGH STREET
The news comes amid a challenging time for the whole of the UK’s retail sector.
High inflation coupled with a squeeze on consumers' finances has meant people have less money to spend in the shops.
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Also, the rising popularity in online shopping has meant people are favouring digital ordering over visiting a physical store.
This ongoing trend has seen brands such as Paperchase vanish completely.
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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