‘High street is dying’ sob shoppers as 14 stores to close in April including M&S and Costa

TONS of retailers are due to close stores in April in what is yet another blow for the high street. 

M&S, Peacocks, House of Fraser, Costa and The Works are among the retailers permanently closing stores over the next few weeks. 

Inflation is still high and many households expect to see quite a few of their bills rise this month. 

So they are tightening their purses and cutting back on non-essential shopping. 

Retailers have been feeling the pinch since the pandemic many have had to grapple with small budgets and consequently chosen to close stores in order to cut costs. 

Below, we reveal all the stores set to close for good in April.  

Peacocks 

Peacocks is closing not one, but two stores this month, one in Cornwall and one in Bournemouth. 

The Camborne, Cornwall store announced the closure in February with a “heavy heart”.

The fashion chain is also shutting its branch in Boscombe, Bournemouth, on April 6 in a blow for locals.

Locals described the news as: “More misery and angst for the staff.”

Peacocks collapsed into administration in 2020 and was forced to close just over 200 of its 400 stores.

The fashion chain went bust after struggling for business amid the coronavirus pandemic and multiple lockdowns.

However, it has been slowly reappearing on the high street, building its portfolio back up to around 350 stores.

M&S 

M&S is closing just one store this month but the branch has played a key role in its local community for years. 

Marks and Spencer has confirmed it will be closing its store in Queensgate Shopping Centre, Peterborough.

M&S blamed “customers shopping habits” and said it will be closing the store on April 20.

The store used to be John Lewis’s flagship store for 40 years was taken over by M&S in 2021.

The store has three floors including a food hall and an M&S cafe. Shoppers could also find a variety of different clothes and a Bureau de Change.

Costa 

Costa Coffee closed a store last month but it has announced it is due to close another store this month. 

Costa confirmed it is pulling down the shutters on its cafe in Stockton Heath, Warrington.

Reacting to the news on Facebook, shoppers have said the venue will be “sorely missed”.

This month the chain closed a cafe in Erdington, a suburb of Birmingham.

The high street favourite has already shut the doors to dozens of its sites in recent months.

Boots 

Last month we saw a whopping 10 Boots stores officially retire from the high street. 

This month just one Boots store closure has been confirmed, the branch in Colwyn Bay is due to close on April 6. 

Here’s a list of all the stores that closed last month: 

• Rainham, Kent – March 30
• North Kenton, Newcastle – March 3
• Castlecroft, Wolverhampton – March 21 
• Sprowston, Norwich – March 16 
• Welwyn Garden City – March 9 
• East Parade, Heworth, York – March 9
• Rhos on Sea, Wales – March 23
• Pool, Redruth, Cornwall – March 1
• Bradmore, Wolverhampton – no date given
• Oldham, Greater Manchester – March

Writing on social media in reaction to the news, one shopper said: “What a joke.”

House of Fraser 

Shoppers have been left heartbroken after learning House of Fraser will be closing a store this month. 

The retailer will close a store along with Cavendish House – the historic 201-year-old building it’s based in.

The store located in Cheltenham will close on April 6. 

One person was so devastated at the “dying” high street that they thought there would soon be “no point in visiting the town.”

Homebase 

A Homebase store in Brentford is due to close this month and the retailer already announced a closing-down sale. 

A spokesperson for the chain told The Sun: “Our store in Brentford will close on April 13. 

A local said online: “What a shame I will miss Homebase, all the staff losing their jobs.”

Tesco is also due to close its Osterly store after the local council approved planning permission for two tower blocks to be built on the site. 

However, Tesco is planning on opening a replacement Tesco Extra store in Osterly, although a date has not yet been confirmed.

Game

A Game store in Newark is also due to close early this month on April 7. 

The store has already launched a closing-down sale, with most products around the store now marked down by 20%.

The retailer closed two stores down last month and April’s closure will be the ninth of the year. 

The assistant manager of the Newark store said: “It is a huge loss to Newark and hopefully something happens in the future and we can get another Game back here.”

Game was bought by billionaire businessman Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group in 2019 as part of a £52million deal.

But by January 2020 it had announced plans to close 40 of its more than 300 stores across the UK.

As of today, there are over 240 Game stores nationwide.

The Orginal Factory Shop

The Original Factory Shop’s store in Harwich has announced it is rolling down the shatters for good next month.

Its store in the Essex town will close to shoppers for the final time on Saturday, April 6.

Town locals were sad to hear the news one said: “l will miss coming into your shop is the only place where I can get shoes to fit me, and I will also miss the staff.

The retailer has been running since 1969 and has around 190 stores across the UK.

The Original Factory Shop has already pulled the shutters down on three stores this year:

• Chepstow, Wales
• Mildenhall, Suffolk
• Bodmin, Cornwall

The Works 

The Works is due to close another two stores this month. 

The discount retailer, which sells everything from arts and crafts to gifts, toys and stationery will close its Swansea branch on April 20.

A spokesperson told the Sun it had been we have “been unable to agree on suitable lease terms to stay”.

One said: “One step nearer to a ghost town,” while a second added: “This is getting ridiculous.”

The retailer has confirmed that its shop in Penrith will shut its doors for the final time in mid-April, although no exact date has been given yet.

The high street retailer has already scrapped its loyalty card scheme and shoppers have a few months to use up their earned vouchers. 

Pure Gym 

Fitness chain Pure Gym is another brand that has plans to close a site this month. 

The gym in Grimsby will be close to all members on April 22 for good. 

One Facebook user said: “I don’t understand why a busy gym is closing at just the time of year when overheads will be starting to go down. It makes no sense.”

PureGym is to automatically issue a pro-rata refund for the remainder of memberships seven to 14 days after the closure.

Select 

Select which has more than 100 stores across the UK is closing a branch in Erith Riverside Shopping Centre in London.

The brand has launched a closing-down sale, with a sign in the store advertising “crazy offers”.

It comes after Select announced that it was closing its shop in Ashford’s County Square shopping centre in Kent.

The retailer was founded in 1980 and has become a staple of the high street.

Booths

Supermarket chain Booths is closing a store this month as well. 

The store located on Hale Road in Altrincham will shut its doors for the last time on Sunday, April 7 after nine years in the local community.

One shopper said: “Another said: “So sad particularly for the staff who work there. Lovely store.”

But luckily shoppers in the area won’t be without a supermarket for too long.

Asda will be taking over the store just a few weeks later officially opening on Monday, April 29. 

The Hale Barns site will become Asda’s second main store in Altrincham.

What is happening to the high street?

The pandemic was a tough blow as many stores had to close during lockdown.

Since then energy costs have risen and more shoppers than ever are choosing to order online rather than head into stores.

This has left some remaining retailers grappling with budgets and having no choice but to close stores to cut costs.

The Body Shop is currently going through administration and announced plans to close half of its 198 stores with seven already closed.

Boots revealed it would be closing 300 stores over the next year as part of plans to evolve its brand.

WHSmith told The Sun it has no plans to open anymore more high street stores as it wants to focus on the travel side of its business.

Major banks have also announced multiple branch closures.

Halifax is closing several branches this month and more are due to close later on in the year.

Even charity shops are struggling Oxfam confirmed it would close eight of its UK stores last year.

Retailers closing stores in 2024

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 are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.

Here’s a list of all the big-name brands closing stores this year:

• Argos – The brand announced plans to close 100 standalone UK branches last year as it looks to move away from the high street and focus on expanding its presence in supermarkets.
• B&Q – The chain has over 300 shops across the UK, so chances are you have one near you, but some stores have closed in recent months.
• Boots – The health and beauty chain announced that it would be closing 300 stores last July. Closures are ongoing and this will see the retailer’s estate reduced from 2,200 to 1,900 shops.
• Clintons – Clintons mulled plans to close 38 shops in a bid to avoid insolvency late last year. We’ve listed the stores affected.
• Costa Coffee – The caffeine giant has around 2,000 sites nationwide, so chances are you’ll have one near you. The chain has shut the doors to dozens of its sites recently. We’ve revealed which stores are due to close this year.
• Iceland – The supermarket has more than 900 stores but closed nearly two dozen sites in 2023, and more selected shops are due to shut.
• Lidl – The supermarket, which has 950 stores, is changing up shop locations, which has meant that some stores have to close. But the retailer is also looking to open 12 new supermarkets.
• M&S – M&S, which runs 405 stores across the country, has been closing a string of branches across the country in a blow for shoppers. It’s not all bad news, though, because the chain also has big plans to open dozens of new shops as well.
• Trespass – The firm announced in July last year that it was closing six branches, but more are on the way.
• WHSmith – The retail giant, which runs over 1,100 stores, has shuttered eight stores since March 2023, but more are coming.

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