‘What’s next?’ cry shoppers as DIY chain with 150 reveals exact date it will close another branch within weeks
A DIY chain with 150 stores has revealed the exact date that it will close another branch as shoppers cry “what’s next?”.
Homebase has announced the closure of a popular store within weeks.
The DIY chain will bring the shutters down on its store in Marsh Mills Retail Park, Plymouth, on December 3.
Customers will have to travel 30miles east to get to the next closest store in Newton Abbot after the Plymouth store shuts.
Shoppers have been left stunned by the decision, with many taking to social media to share their opinions.
Commenting on Facebook, one shopper said: “Soo sad to see yet another good store leave Plymouth.
“I always go there for my paint and accessories. They have such a good choice which I have not seen anywhere else.”
Another wrote: “So very sad to see another one going, What’s next?”
And a third added: “Another shop to go, just like all the rest.”
Homebase, which has 152 stores, has also announced that its branch in Banbury, Oxford on Southam Road, will also close on December 3.
The store now has a closing down sale, with posters in and outside the store that state “all stock is reduced” and that “everything must go”
The retailer is also set to pull the plug on its shop at the O2 Centre on Finchley Road in London on December 10.
It comes after the retailer shut its Newport store in South Wales on September 8.
Homebase has closed 93 stores since it was taken over by Hilco Capital in 2018.
Hilco bought the hardware store chain for £1 from Australian firm Wesfarmers, which paid £340million for what has been dubbed one of the “most disastrous takeovers ever seen”.
Wesfarmers is known for its Bunnings chain in Australia. It attempted to transform Homebase into its own DIY brand.
Prior to the Hilco takeover, Homebase had 250 stores at its peak and 12,000 staff.
But Homebase soon returned to profit after it entered a CVA agreement and restructured its business.
The retailer recently launched a huge gardening sale with some items up to 50% off.
Why are retailers closing stores?
Retailers have been feeling the pinch since the pandemic while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to soaring inflation.
High energy costs and a shift to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
Brands like Frasers have been moving and relocating profitable stores and brands within department stores but other brands have been shutting stores for good.
The inability to renegotiate rents and agreements with landlords is also putting pressure on some retailers to pull out of some locations.
A number of well-known retailers including Argos, M&S and Poundstretcher have closed stores in recent months.
But others have been hit so hard they’ve been left on the brink of administration.
However, some big brands are expanding the number of stores they operate.
Marks and Spencer is set to open nine new shops this month and some are throwing their doors open for the first time within days.
B&M is also opening more than a dozen new branches across the UK by the end of 2023.
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