Latest news with #retailclosures
The Sun
15 hours ago
- Business
- The Sun
Full list of 43 shops and banks vanishing from British high street forever in July – is your local closing?
MAJOR retailers and banks will close several stores for good this month as the high street continues to face difficulties. The closures come as UK businesses continue to faced increased costs alongside a decline in footfall. Changes in this year's budget, including an increase in employer National Insurance contributions and energy and rent costs have piled on pressure for companies. As a result, some retailers have been forced to make drastic changes to remain competitive. This includes hiking prices, reviewing expansion plans and reducing the number of stores they have. Here is a full list of the shops and banks we know are shutting in July 2025. The Original Factory Shop The discount high street chain closed nine shops in June after previously warning it would have to shut some 'loss-making' locations. This comes after the discount chain began to struggle in recent years. And now the retailer is now set to close its location in Staveley, Cumbria on July 12. The private equity firm Modella bought The Original Factory Shop in February and has since launched a restructuring effort. This was carried out in an effort to renegotiate rents at 88 The Original Factory Shop stores across the country. Modella also recently bought Hobbycraft and WHSmith's high street shops. Co-op Faces Uncertain Future: 34 Stores at Risk Amid Financial Struggles Iceland The supermarket chain will close its store on Rose Street in Inverness on July 12. There will no longer be any Iceland stores in the Scottish city, with the closest located in Aberdeen. This move will come just weeks after Iceland shut down its Margate branch. The retailer has not yet confirmed the reason for the sudden closure but it has been completing a broader reshuffle of its operations in recent months. This is part of an effort to adapt to shifting consumer habits, cost pressures, and the growing demand for convenience and online shopping. 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." Poundland After a series of closures in the past few months, Poundland is set to shut down its location in Deepdale Retail Park in Preston on July 5 and another store in Newquay on July 30. Gordon Brothers, the ex-owner of Laura Ashley, purchased the business from Polish owner Pepco Group for £1 after a downturn in trading. The new owners are asking the court for permission to close 68 stores and negotiate lower rents on others. Up to 82 more stores are potentially at risk of shutting down in the future. However, before the sale was agreed, Poundland had already planned to close 18 stores, with the July shutdowns among the last to be confirmed. New Look The famous fashion retailer is set to close another location at the beginning of July. Hamilton, Scotland will see its New Look store permanently pull the shutters on July 1. The move comes after the shop announced it would be closing nearly 100 stores in the coming months. A New Look spokesperson said: 'Our store in Hamilton is set close on July 1. We would like to thank all of our colleagues and the local community for their support over the years. "We hope customers continue to shop with us online at where our full product ranges can be found.' Santander Santander is set to close 38 branches next month after announcing locations were struggling due to the increase in online banking. A statement on the Santander website reads: "We last did a major review of our branches in 2021. "Since then, many of our customers are choosing to use Mobile, Online and Telephone Banking more, and branches less." The Santander locations set to close in July are: Armagh July 1 Bognor Regis July 14 Borehamwood July 1 Caernarfon July 7 Camborne July 7 Colne July 14 Colwyn Bay July 24 Crowborough July 23 Cumbernauld July 7 Didsbury July 8 Exmouth July 15 Falmouth July 21 Farnham July 29 Felixstowe July 16 Hackney July 15 Hawick July 24 Herne Bay July 8 Hertford July 29 Holloway July 14 Honiton July 14 Kirkby July 22 Malvern July 2 Market Harborough July 1 New Milton July 28 Pudsey July 28 Rawtenstall July 15 Ross-On-Wye July 30 Ruislip July 7 Saltcoats July 21 Seaford July 14 Shaftesbury July 23 St Austell July 8 St Neots July 30 Stokesley July 31 Strabane July 23 Tenterden July 7 Tottenham July 8 Wishaw July 22
Fast Company
10-06-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Flagstar Bank just closed dozens of branches in 5 states. See full the list of locations that shuttered in May
This year has not been kind to retailers in terms of store closures. But brick-and-mortar shops are not the only retail category that has experienced a decline in 2025. Banks are closing retail locations, too. One of America's largest regional banks, Flagstar, closed 24 branch locations on May 30. The closures come after the bank's parent company, Flagstar Financial, announced in January that it would be shuttering 60 branches this year. Here's what you need to know about the latest Flagstar branch closures. What's happened? On May 30, Flagstar shut 24 bank branches for good, according to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which is an independent bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The OCC regulates national banks in the United States. In its weekly bulletin for the period from May 25 to May 30, 2025, the OCC says that 24 Flagstar Bank branches were closed. However, the closures did not come as a surprise, as the company announced in January that it would shutter 60 branches. As Banking Dive previously reported, Flagstar Financial announced it would close the locations in an effort to consolidate its retail footprint and cut $600 million in operating costs from its balance sheet by the end of the year. Running physical locations incurs significant operating costs, and as more people turn to online banking first and try to avoid visiting branches if possible, those branches are used less, leading to a reduced return on investment for banks. Which Flagstar Bank branches have closed? According to the OCC, 24 Flagstar Bank branches closed on May 30. The branch closures impact locations in five states: Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. New York saw the most Flagstar Bank branches close in this round, with nine locations shutting down. Michigan and New Jersey saw six locations each shutter. Indiana saw two close and Ohio one. Here are the locations of the closed branches in each state. Indiana 5770 COVENTRY LANE FORT WAYNE IN 2926 MISHAWAKA AVENUE SOUTH BEND IN Michigan 210 WEST HURON STREET ANN ARBOR MI 29049 JOY ROAD WESTLAND MI 914 CHARLEVOIX DRIVE GRAND LEDGE MI 4675 32ND AVENUE HUDSONVILLE MI 5151 CORPORATE DRIVE TROY MI 500 WOODWARD AVENUE, Detroit, MI New Jersey 949 BROADWAY BAYONNE NJ 142 BROAD STREET ELIZABETH NJ 36 FERRY STREET NEWARK NJ 198 JEFFERSON STREET NEWARK NJ 2624 MORRIS AVENUE UNION NJ 133 S. LIVINGSTON AVENUE LIVINGSTON NJ New York 30TH AVENUE, ASTORIA, NY 625 ATLANTIC AVENUE BROOKLYN NY 102 DUFFY AVENUE HICKSVILLE NY 1608 KINGS HIGHWAY HOMECREST (BKLYN) NY 66-77 FRESH POND ROAD RIDGEWOOD NY 65-30 KISSENA BLVD. FLUSHING NY 509 OLD COUNTRY ROAD PLAINVIEW NY 194-02 NORTHERN BOULEVARD FLUSHING NY 100 JERICHO QUADRANGLE JERICHO NY Ohio ONE NORTH HAWKINS AVE. AKRON OH Flagstar's stock price soars since closure announcement While many people prefer the ease and convenience of online banking, closures of physical bank branches can still have a negative impact on communities and certain groups of individuals. This is particularly true for older individuals who may not be as adept at using the internet or app-based banking, or who may simply prefer to visit a physical branch location to discuss their banking needs with a representative. Still, financial companies looking to cut costs often turn to branch closures as the quickest way to do so (that, and employee layoffs). And investors in those banks generally react favorably to those types of moves. Indeed, since Flagstar announced in January that it would close 60 branches, the company's stock price (NYSE: FLG) has soared. At the start of the year, FLG stock was trading in the $9 range. But by the end of January, after the company announced the branch closures, FLG stock jumped to nearly $12 per share. Year-to-date, FLG stock is currently up over 27% as of the time of this writing. On April 25, Flagstar Financial announced its Q1 2025 earnings, in which the company revealed that its operating expenses declined 22% year-over-year. The company says that as of March 31, Flagstar Bank held $97.6 billion in total assets, $73.9 billion in total deposits, and operated approximately 400 locations. Its online branch locator tool shows that as of today, there are 363 Flagstar Bank locations in the United States.
The Sun
25-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Major charity retailer to close two stores in days after shutting 27 – see the full list of closures
A MAJOR charity retailer is closing two stores in days after shuttering 27 this year. Scope, which runs shops in England and Wales, is shutting branches in Exmouth and Bury on May 31. 1 Five other sites have closed this month, including in Blyth, Hove, Burton and Erdington. Scope has shut 27 stores already this year following a consultation which launched in January. Once the two in Exmouth and Bury close for good on Saturday, this will rise to a total of 29. These are the 27 stores that have closed since the start of March: Amersham Atherstone Barking Bangor Birkenhead Bishop Auckland Blyth Burton Castleford Devizes Dewsbury Eastbourne Erdington Haywards Heath Hove Lewisham New Milton Newport Orpington Parkstone Scunthorpe Shirley (Southampton) Southampton Skipton West Hampstead, London Welling Workington A further six branches have shut this year due their leases ending, however the locations of these stores have not been revealed. On top of the existing closures, Scope has said a further 35 of its stores will shut, bringing the total number of closures to 70. It has also confirmed another five shops are set to be close later this year, with a possible further two as well. This means potentially 77 Scope shops will close. The locations of these 42 stores or their closure dates are yet to be revealed. Britain's retail apocalypse: why your favourite stores KEEP closing down Debbie Boylen, head of retail at Scope, said: "We know our teams put in their very best efforts, but our shops are collectively now losing money when taking account of all of their costs. "A number make strong profits but there are loss making shops too. 'We never take the decision to close our stores lightly." Scope first launched the consultation to close dozens of its stores in January due to declining footfall and spiralling costs. Chief executive Mark Hodgkinson said external factors had "made trading harder'. He added: "This situation isn't confined to Scope. All retailers have been hit with a greater shift to online shopping. "And we are facing rising rents, soaring energy costs, increased staff costs, and the cost of living squeezing customers." Despite its challenges at high street branches, Scope's online sales have boomed in recent years. It saw online sales increase by 75% in 2023/24, up £1.2million on the year before. CHARITY RETAIL SECTOR STRUGGLES The retail sector has struggled in recent years, particular on the high street as shoppers head online to get their weekly bits. Households' budgets have also been squeezed by high inflation and soaring mortgage and rental costs. The charity retail sector is far from immune from these struggles, with bosses sounding the alarm last month. In a gloomy post in April, the Charity Retail Association's (CRA) board of directors said some of its members were reporting the "worst time for trading they have ever encountered". The CRA added some of its larger members were considering taking similar action to Scope and cutting down store estates. "There appears to be a bit of a perfect storm at the moment, with income being relatively flat, and cost pressures being almost unprecedented," they said. These cost pressures relate to an increase in employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs), the national minimum wage, rental and utility costs and waste disposal costs. In a recent survey carried out by the CRA of its members, 36% of respondents said they would look to reduce the number of paid staff on their books to tackle these increased costs. Meanwhile, 21% said they were looking at reducing store trading hours and 27%, over a quarter, stated they may have to close shops. .
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Joann to close all remaining stores in May after shuttering 255 in April. What to know.
One-third of all Joann stores closed for business permanently in April, and now the rest are set to follow suit in May. The fabric and craft retailer announced plans to close every store in February after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time within a year and selling its assets. Since then the company has gradually rolled out going-out-of-business sales, with 112 stores closing on April 28. A total of 255 locations shuttered in April, according Jo Anne McCusker, a spokesperson for GA Group, the retail liquidator that won all of Joann's chain's assets through auction in February. The retailer has not announced the remaining locations closing soon but McCusker confirmed the majority of closures will happen in May. Here's what to know. The closure of every Joann's store comes after the Hudson, Ohio-based retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time within a year and auctioned its remaining assets. On Feb. 22, retail liquidator GA Group and Joann's term lenders won the bidding for the company. Joann announced the closure of more than 500 stores in February though the dates of each closure have varied per location. A total of 255 locations closures occurred in April and the remaining ones are set for May. Scott Carpenter, CEO of GA Group's Retail Solutions, said GA Group has a decades-long history with Joann. Their past work includes assisting Joann in buying former competitor, House of Fabrics, in the late 1990s and helping increase the retailer's store footprints from 2006 to 2016. Carpenter said the new ownership group is planning to roll out a "multimillion-dollar retention plan" for Joann's around 19,000 employees that includes organizing job fairs and granting workers time off so they can interview for other jobs. USA TODAY is waiting to hear back from Joann about which locations are closing in May. Contributing: Gabe Hauari, Mike Snider, Fernando Cervantes Jr., Mary Walrath-Holdridge, Maria Francis and Jim Sergent This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joann to close all remaining stores in May after shuttering over 250
