Bargain supermarket with 300 locations to close popular shop in weeks
A POPULAR supermarket has announced the closure of one of its locations as staff face redundancies.
In just a matter of weeks, Farmfoods will be closing one of its Oxfordshire locations.
The store at The Calthorpe Center in Banbury will be shutting its doors for good on February 2.
News of the closure comes after social media users speculated about its demise in the new year.
It appears that staff were informed of redundancies around that time and the news was shared online.
One user said: “Farm Foods will close on Sunday, February 2, with all staff being made redundant with a new store opening in July near Iceland food warehouse.”
Despite hopes for the Scottish frozen food and grocery store to open a new location as a replacement, this has not been confirmed.
Farmfoods released a statement addressing the Calthorpe Center location earlier this week.
A spokesperson said: “I confirm our shop at the Calthorpe Centre, Banbury will permanently close on February 2 following a 50 per cent sale.
“We’re grateful to all customers who have shopped with us during our time trading from the property and hope to open a new shop elsewhere in the town in future.”
But the company added that no details regarding this hope have been confirmed.
According to the Oxford Mail, Farmfoods refused to comment on how many staff will be let go as a result of the closure.
It comes just a few months after another Farmfoods store closed its doors for good leaving loyal shoppers devastated.
The chain with over 300 locations across the UK closed its Sutton branch in South London on October 5.
While no reason has been given for the latest closure, the Sutton branch shuttered due to the landlord deciding to redevelop the land, My London reported at the time.
Disappointed shoppers fled to a local Facebook page to mourn the high street loss.
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.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is “less bad” than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” Prof Bamfield said.
“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023’s biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
“That’s really sad, I love Farmfoods, soon there shall be no shops left in Sutton,” one wrote.
“Sutton could end up a dormitory town as Crawley was, no services, or many shops in town, but plenty of places to live and good transport to get to and from it,” another added.
Meanwhile, a beloved shoe shop chain has announced it will be shutting one of its locations after four decades.
Blunts Shoes, a chain loved by singer James Blunt will close its location on Granby Street in Leicester City by the end of March.
Lovers of The Body Shop have also received bad news this week as the chain announced closing down dales at five stores.
The stores in Exeter, Plymouth, Horsham, Norwich, and Sheffield will all be shutting their doors on January 15.
So far, the high street chain has already closed three branches in Hove, Cambridge Hills Road, and Cambridge Petty Cury.