SHUTTERS DOWN
High street discounter with 187 stores to close town centre branch in WEEKS
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A HIGH street retailer discounter with 187 stores will close down a town centre branch in a matter of weeks.
The Original Factory Shop, a department store chain, is calling time on its branch in Invergordon, Scotland.
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Bosses confirmed the news on social media writing in a Facebook post: "We are sorry to let you know our store will close its doors on 28th February 2025.
"We take this opportunity to thank all of the local community and our store colleagues for their support throughout our time here in Invergordon."
Locals were quick to chime in and share their devastation ahead of its closure.
One upset shopper said: "So sorry that you are going. What a shame for Invergordon High Street."
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While a second person said: "That is such a shame, another loss on the high street."
A third said: "So sad the shop and staff will be missed."
A massive closing down sale has been launched with the store offering 50% off all items to help shift stock before it closes at the end of the month.
The Sun has contacted The Original Factory shop for comment.
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It's not the first time in recent weeks that The Original Factory Shop said it would close down one of its branches on the high street.
TOFS has shut 10 of its shops over the last year and these were located in:
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- Brightlingsea, Essex
- Bodmin, Cornwall
- Chepstow, Wales
- Fakenham, Norfolk
- Harwich, Essex
- Mildenhall, Suffolk
- Padiham, Lancashire
- Taunton, Somerset
- Deal, Kent
- Haverfordwest, Wales
It comes amid a tough time for the business, which in December called in Teneo, a strategic advisory firm, to explore all options, including another attempt to flog the chain.
However, this could also involve the prospect of store closures or a company restructuring.
At the time, a spokesperson for the retailer said: "The Original Factory Shop has been offering communities a great range of products at unbeatable value since 1969.
"Like many retailers, the company continually reviews its outlook and is exploring a range of strategic options.
"The business continues to trade as normal and is expected to perform well over the busy Christmas period."
It's important to note that strategic options can mean a variety of different things, and for now, all shops are open for business as usual.
The brand currently trades from 187 stores across the UK.
This isn't the first time TOFS has been on the market.
Last year, current owners Duke Street Capital, who've been at the helm since 2007, tried to sell up through Deloitte, but no deal was struck.
Back in 2013, the chain was valued at over £100million, but recent financial results show a dip in both revenue and profits, ending the year to March 2023 with a pre-tax loss of £286,000.
MORE SHOP CLOSURES
Plenty of other retailers are closing stores across the high street as households lean more towards online shopping and amid high business rates.
Soaring inflation in recent years has also dented shoppers' pockets.
The Centre for Retail Research's latest analysis suggests 13,479 stores, the equivalent of 37 each day, shut for good in 2024.
Of those, 11,341 were independent shops while 2,138 were shut by larger retailers.
The data also showed over half the stores that closed last year were shut due to the store or retailer going through insolvency proceedings.
This is when formal measures are taken to deal with tackling a business's debt.
Retailers are also shutting stores in 2025.
For example, New Look is ramping up a store closure programme ahead of April's National Insurance hike.
Approximately a quarter of the retailer's 364 stores are at risk when their leases expire.
This equates to about 91 stores, with a significant impact on its 8,000-strong workforce.
The company has restructured its store estate twice in the past six years, reducing its portfolio from around 600 UK stores in 2018.
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For the time being, stores remain open as usual, and no final decisions regarding closures have been made.
Recently, New Look has confirmed that its branch in Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf, will shut its doors for good this month.
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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