MAJOR high street chains are preparing to close some of their stores for good this week.
Soaring inflation has left shoppers strapped for cash, and retailers are struggling to get customers to part with their hard-earned money.
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High energy costs and a shift to online shopping are also taking a toll and many brands and many just haven’t been able to keep going.
But not every retailer is shutting stores for good – some are expanding.
The Original Factory Shop confirmed to The Sun it will open three stores this month, and a further eight in September.
While B&M is opening seven new branches across the UK within weeks.
Below we have listed all the retailers closing this week – including Co-op and B&M.
Co-op
Co-op is pulling down the shutters on its store in Mildenhall Road, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on Saturday, August 19.
Commenting on the closure, a spokesperson for the business said it “regularly reviews all of its sites and decisions regarding any store are only taken after careful consideration”.
It comes after Co-op shut a number of other branches earlier this year with others mooted for closure.
The chain closed its branch in Princess Drive, Grantham, in January while its store in Linthorpe Village, Middlesbrough closed the same month.
Meanwhile, its shop in Lodge Lane, Bridgnorth, closed in January and its branch in Folkestone Central Train station shut for renovation.
The supermarket in Ombersley Road, Claines, was planned for closure in March this year although a date was not confirmed at the time.
However, in March, Co-op said six new stores would open by the end of the month.
B&M
B&M will shut its store at Kiln Lane in Reading for the final time on Saturday, August 19.
However, shoppers will be able to take advantage of a “bigger and better” store just down the road in Brunel Retail Park.
While the bargain retailer’s store at Glasgow Forge store is temporarily close on Sunday, August 20.
The shop is shutting to allow for refurbishment and expansion works to complete.
Following this, the new store will open back up to customers at 8am on Saturday, August 26.
The store manager at B&M Glasgow Forge, said: “We wanted to make our store even better for customers, giving them even more big branded products.”
“We hope customers are going to be delighted with their new and improved store, the team have been working really hard to get the store ready to welcome customers through the door.
“We’re really excited to open the doors of our new store in August.”
B&M has closed a number of stores in recent months – you can see the full list here.
Wetherspoons
The Bankers Draft in Eltham, London and The Sir John Arderne in Newark are set to close on Sunday, August 20.
It comes after Wetherspoons – which has 827 pubs across the UK – warned last September that 32 pubs were being put up for sale.
Now the total number of venues that have closed stands at 29.
The pubs which have already closed were smaller, older, or have a second Wetherspoons fairly close by, the company said in a trading update published in July.
But it’s not all bad news as three new Wetherspoon pubs have opened over the past year.
The Sun has put together a handy guide to all the Wetherspoons closures that have taken place or are still to come this year.
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