CLOSING TIME
Major outdoor retailer with over 70 shops to close another branch as it launches closing down sale
It comes after the retailer's Leicester site closed in September
A MAJOR outdoor retailer with over 70 shops is set to close another branch.
The specialist store has already announced a closing down sale.
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The outdoor retailer, Blacks Outdoor, has revealed it's set to shut its shop in Glasgow's city centre.
Situated on Argyle Street, passersby have already spotted closing down posters.
Boasting that "absolutely everything" must go, the window signs suggest 30% off all stock.
The chain was founded in 1861 and is best known for selling clothing, footwear and equipment.
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Many in the area may be left at a loss with one less store on their high street.
Previous Google Reviews for the outdoor pursuit store have praised staff and the overall shopping experience.
One customers said: ";Great store with many options and prices.
"Staff is very nice and helpful, specially Evie, who made my experience smooth and easy.
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"She found everything I needed. So glad and happy with my purchase. Thanks."
Another commented: "Solid customer experience in store. Went in to get a replacement for my very old Merrell hiking boots.
Major high street retailer with 17 Scots stores to close 'a THIRD' of UK shops
"Was helped by Tim, who gave helpful advice and found me a pair of new boots."
Someone else put: "Great customer service and range of hiking shoes.
"Really helpful and friendly staff who happily brought up loads of boxes of shoes. Can't wait to come up with an excuse to go again."
Others have been quick to head to social media to express their dismay over the closure.
One Facebook user wrote: "To think Glasgow was the best shopping district outside London years ago. It's a shame what it's like now."
Another put: "It's sad to see."
It is not clear when the store is set to close its doors for the final time.
Back in September, another one of the retailer's branches shut.
The Leicester High Street store's closure left many devastated.
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It is not thought the closures are related.
A spokesperson for Blacks Outdoors told the Sun that the store is set to be converted into a GO Outdoors Express Store.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025."
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
"By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
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