Major high street chain with over 1,000 locations to shut THIRD town centre branch in a year
A MAJOR high street chain is set to shut its third branch in a single town centre in less than a year.
The stationery retailer, which has over 1,000 locations nationwide, confirmed that it would be closing its Winton branch in Bournemouth, Dorset.
The WHSmith shop will be closing its doors for good on February 15 next year.
A spokesperson told The Sun: “We can confirm that the WHSmith store in Winton will be closing on 15th February.
“We are disappointed to be losing our presence in Winton and we would like to thank all our customers for their support and for shopping with us.
“We are also extremely grateful for the commitment of our in store colleagues who we will support with this transition and redeploy to nearby stores, where possible.”
It comes after the retailer, whose stores are a regular fixture in airports around the world, closed its Boscombe branch in the same town in June.
The store had served customers on the high street for more than 12 years, with one disappointed local writing: “I’ll miss it.”
A spokesperson confirmed that the closure had been timed to align with the end of the lease on the site, adding: “We are extremely grateful for the commitment of our in-store colleagues who we will support with this transition and redeploy to nearby stores, where possible.”
And, bosses also called time on a third Bournemouth store – on Old Christchurch Road – which is set to close as soon as January.
While the company has not officially confirmed the closure, a spokesperson hinted at the possibility, reported The Bournemouth Echo.
They said: “We keep our store lease agreements under regular review, including at our Old Christchurch Road store in Bournemouth and will share updates on any changes to the store in future.”
Bournemouth residents reacted to the closure on Facebook, with one user commenting: “Another shop of Bournemouth bites the dust!! Shame.”
WHSmith has also closed down several stores outside Bournemouth this year, including in Bolton, Lancashire.
However, it’s not all bad news for loyal customers, as the retailer announced plans to open 15 new stores earlier this year – set to pop up in airports, railway stations and hospitals.
WHSmith is focusing on the travel side of its business where sales are growing.
In an update this year to investors, the retailer said it’s on track to open 15 stores this year, with a further 15 to follow “each year over the medium term”.
It forms part of wider plans to open 110 new shops worldwide.
The retailer said it would be moving away from its high-street stores and has no plans to open any more.
Why are retailers closing shops?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases, retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money-makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better-performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.