CLOSING TIME
Major high street retailer with 364 sites to shut three stores starting in DAYS as closing down sales launched
Find out how much you can save in the closing down sales
A MAJOR high street fashion chain is closing three of its stores and shoppers are rushing to the clearance sales.
New Look is closing the branches located across the UK starting in just a matter of days.
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The sites are Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, as well as in St Austell, Cornwall, and Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf.
Each of the branches are holding closing down sales, prompting bargain-lovers to head over for savings.
Reports emerged recently that New Look had accelerated plans to close nearly 100 stores after facing challenges linked to the Autumn Budget tax changes.
Its branch at the the Team Valley Retail World in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear will shutter on March 9.
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Shoppers called the news "devastating" and "terrible", saying there had already been "so many closures"; in the area.
This also marks yet another closure for New Look in the North East, which had already closed its Bishop Auckland and Teesside Park stores.
The St Austell branch in Cornwall will close on March 4.
Local residents said the closure was "absolutely shocking", with one complaining on social media: "There will be nothing left in St Austell, such a shame!!"
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New Look has two other stores in Cornwall, in Truro and Falmouth.
This week will also see the closure of the fashion retailer's branch in Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf.
The store will close for good on Saturday.
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One shopper wrote on Facebook: "So sad! The staff have worked so hard to keep this shop open.
"They have been a credit to New Look."
Before the shops shutter their doors, customers can head down to grab a bargain in the closing down sales.
In a post on Facebook, Team Valley Retail World urged people to head to New Look "before it's too late".
All swimwear has been priced at £1, while tops are £3, dresses are £5, bottoms are £7 and boots are £12.
A shopper on the social media site added that jumpers, coats and shoes are also reduced but are all at different prices.
Another posted a picture of their haul, which included an array of tops and dresses.
What's happening to New Look?
Since the retailer announced its plans to accelerate closures, a total of six stores have either shut their doors or been earmarked to close.
New Look's store in the Carillon Court Shopping Centre, Loughborough, closed on January 21.
Its Wickford, Essex branch shut on January 24, while the Bracknell Peel Centre shop closed on January 30.
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 New Look's 8,000-strong workforce.
Back in 2018, New Look had about 600 stores across the UK.
It's understood the latest drive to accelerate closures is driven by the upcoming increase in National Insurance contributions for employers.
The move, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in October, is expected to hit retailers hard - and the British Retail Consortium has predicted these changes will create a £2.3billion bill for the sector.
A New Look spokesperson said previously: "Our store estate is an important part of our business, alongside our best-in-class website and app.
"We have recently invested over £3million in our stores in Greater Manchester to trial new omnichannel initiatives to improve customer experience.
"We also continue to invest in our thriving online platform which has resulted in a strong online sales performance, with volumes significantly outpacing last year and an improved online margin."
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"On occasion we do have to close stores, either due to the landlord’s request or because the site becomes unviable.
"However, we always remain on the lookout for appropriate new opportunities across the country and continue to invest in our existing store estate."
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.
However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
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."
It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024.
End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker.
It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date.
This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023.
It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns.
The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker.
Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations.
Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes.
Professor Bamfield has 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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