British high street giant with 500 shops launches closing down sale at ‘vital' store in another blow to seaside resort

Scottish Sun

6 days ago

One devastated resident set up a petition in a desperate bid to keep the site going
SHOP DROPPED British high street giant with 500 shops launches closing down sale at 'vital' store in another blow to seaside resort
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A HIGH street giant with 500 stores nationwide has launched a closing down sale at a "vital" branch.
Locals in a North Wales seaside resort were shocked to hear the popular sports brand will be shuttering soon.
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The Sports Direct in Rhyl's White Rose Shopping Centre will close in October (not pictured)
Credit: Getty
The Sports Direct, in Rhyl's White Rose Shopping Centre, will be yet another high street site to bite the dust.
The new store, owned by Frasers retail group, was said to be part of an initiative to regenerate the company in 2020.
But shoppers have been told the shop is pulling the shutters down permanently in October, as reported by NorthWalesLive.
One devastated resident, Amy Jones, has set up a petition in a desperate bid to keep the site going.
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On her Change.org, she penned: "Sports Direct in Rhyl is more than just a retail store; it's a vital part of our community.
"Over the years, it has provided not just a shopping venue but also employment opportunities and support for local sports enthusiasts.
"The closure of Sports Direct in Rhyl would have detrimental effects on our local economy and community well-being."
The closure is the latest blow to Rhyl's high street, with a handful of stores and attractions shutting down in the past four years.
However, a cash influx of £20million is set to be pumped into the town from the Government.
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This comes after a Sports Direct branch in Cambridge shut down recently, after launching a huge closing down sale.
A frustrated local said: "Another nail in the coffin for concrete Cambridge."
Meanwhile, another added: "Losing all our stores!
Earlier this year, Sports Direct pulled the plug on its Central Six Retail Park store in Coventry at the end of January.
Last year, its branches in Stroud, Gloucestershire, and on Octagon Parade in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, also shut permanently.
And, just this week a retail chain owned by Sports Direct billionaire Mike Ashley "vanished".
The business tycoon has stakes in several household name brands, including Boohoo, Hugo Boss and House of Fraser.
And nestled in the Fountainbridge area of Edinburgh is Evans Cycles.
The specialist bike store reportedly stocked "over 40,000 specialist products, from some of the world's most renowned cycling brands".
Evans Cycles was acquired by the Frasers Group - which is helmed by Mr Ashley - as part of a rescue deal in 2018.
However the shutters have been pulled down for a final time, after the retailer was "served notice by the landlord".
The recent closure leaves five remaining Evans Cycles in Scotland - two in Glasgow, two in Aberdeen and one in Dundee.
A Frasers Group spokesperson told Edinburgh Evening News: 'It is with regret that we have been served notice by the landlord to close Evans Cycles Edinburgh.
"We would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff for their hard work and dedication.
"Where possible, we are committed to finding new roles within the Group for staff.'
Loyal customers rushed online to express their disappointment.
One said: "Shocked to see Evan's go."
Another added: "Cycling has increased dramatically in Edinburgh over the years, so I'm at a loss as to why it has closed."
A third wrote: "Such a shame, this was a one stop shop for all your cycling needs."
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."