Supermarket giant with 2,000 stores to shut high street shop in DAYS
A SUPERMARKET giant is set to shutter one of its high street shops in just a few days.
Tesco has confirmed it will be closing the site on January 27.
The Chadwell Heath Tesco Express store in High Road, Romford will shut it doors for the last time at the end of the month, according to the Barking & Dagenham Post.
The announcement of its closure was made back in December, but the final date has now been set.
It will no doubt come as a disappointment to locals.
Posting on a local Facebook group one said: “It is now official, a notice in the window of the Tesco Express in the High Road states that it will be closing at the end of January.
“The site was previously occupied by the F W Woolworth store. Known as Woolworths store number 912, this was the nine-hundred and twelfth branch of Woolworths to open in the British Isles, in 1955. This store closed in January 2009.”
One commented: “Shame. I suppose there’s too many shoplifters and wronguns knocking about.”
While another said: “Chadwell Heath high road is going to look even worse now!
“Only decent store left is Sainsbury’s the rest of the street is a total dump.”
A third posted: “Sad as nice staff, I don’t do big tescos, too impersonal.”
While a fourth wrote: “Just heard from security in Tesco Express Chadwell Heath is closing in January? WTAF???
“Rent has doubled a handy supermarket for all gone! So not Chadwell Heath anymore it’s unbelievable!”
The supermarket did not explain the reason behind the closure, but said that it will “continue to serve the local area” through nearby stores.
A spokesperson for Tesco said: “We have taken the difficult decision to close our Chadwell Heath Express later this month.
“We continue to serve the local area through a number of nearby stores.”
They added that colleagues will continue to be consulted about this change, and will have the option to transfer to nearby stores.
The nearest Tesco stores will be Goodmayes Rowallen Express, in Rowallen Parade, and Goodmayes Extra, in High Road.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
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.”
Professor Bamfield has also 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.”
It’s not the only Tesco store to have closed in recent years.
Tesco closed its store in Chippenham last August.
The announcement of its closure was made back in January 2024.
Its closure caused a wave of disappointment and frustration among shoppers.
Tesco previously told The Sun: “We have taken the difficult decision to close our Chippenham Superstore.
“We have, however, secured a new smaller premises in Chippenham town centre which we will open as Tesco Chippenham High Street Express, and we look forward to continuing to serve our customers at our local stores.”
One local wrote on social media at the time: “Huge loss to Chippenham. Appalling that it has got to the point where we will have no supermarket in the town centre.
“Many elderly and vulnerable people who live near the town centre (and don’t have transport) have relied on it for years.
“It is an excellent store. What we will be left with is a puny Tesco Express, with few lines and increased cost.”
Another said: “Just another nail in the coffin that was Chippenham town centre.
“People won’t be doing a weekly shop in a Tesco Express with those prices.”
It also closed down a beloved store in the latest blow for a high street in Cambridgeshire.
Regulars of the popular shop were left upset over the closure with many sobbing “we’ll miss you” and one even labelling it the “end of an era”.
Tesco confirmed that its Express store in March shut its doors for the final time on September 6.
Despite the backlash, Tesco has assured customers that these closures is not part of a wider trend.
The company continues to operate over 2,000 stores across the UK, and these particular closures are standalone decisions.
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.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April 2025, 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.
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.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko 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.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories