A MAJOR bargain store with more than 850 branches is closing its doors forever.
Shoppers have cried foul at yet another loss on our high streets, with Poundland set to close one of its stores within hours.
The cheap and cheerful retailer took over a former Wilko site in Altrincham, Greater Manchester, last October.
Sadly, eight months later, Pounland is closing its George Street location in the Stamford Quarter on Monday.
Locals screamed after the final blow.
One person on Facebook wrote: “Such a shame,” while a second wrote: “Rents need to come down to attract and retain shops.”
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A third said: “How sad.”
And a shocked fourth said: “Gee, it only opened recently.”
In May, signs went up that read: “Sorry. We are closing June 17. Visit our website for other stores nearby.”
A Poundland spokesperson said the company had failed to agree a new lease with the landlord.
He said: “Unfortunately we have been unable to agree lease terms that would allow us to keep the store in business.
“The store is currently scheduled to close on June 17.
“If we have to close a store, we will of course do everything we can to find alternative roles for colleagues.”
The retailer had given priority to Wilko employees when recruiting new staff for the location.
It is not the first former Wilko store that Poundland has closed.
The Jarrow branch was one of the first ex-Wilko stores to reopen, but closed permanently on April 20.
The North East store opened at the end of September last year, just 12 days after taking over the premises from Wilko.
Poundland bought 71 ex-Wilko stores last year when the retailer went bankrupt.
The discounter quickly changed locations and opened many of the stores under its own brand before Christmas.
Several stores have since closed, including locations in Ellesmere Port, Gashiels and the Sailmakers Shopping Center in Ipswich.
In total, Poundland has closed nine former Wilko sites just months after bringing them back to life.
What else is happening in the shopping street
Many retailers have had to make changes recently in an attempt to survive the cost of living crisis.
We’ve seen several big losses in the last twelve months, including popular discounter Wilko and stationary brand Paperchase.
This year, health and beauty chain The Body Shop fell into bankruptcy and announced the closure of many of its 200 stores.
Nearly 500 employees will lose their jobs after 75 stores had to close.
Additionally, clothing retailer Ted Baker also fell into bankruptcy in March 2024, with 15 stores closed as of April 19.
Other retailers such as Iceland, Boots and Matalan have reduced the number of stores they have in their portfolio.
This spring, Boots will close a total of nine locations, as part of wider plans to lose 300 locations.
These closures will reduce the retailer’s total number of stores from 2,200 to 1,900.
This has upset many locals in the affected towns, but the health and beauty chain has said that where stores close there is an alternative store less than three miles away.
If you’re worried about your favorite store disappearing from the high street, we’ve got the full list of shops and supermarkets set to close in May. Check to see if your local store is affected.
Why are retailers closing their stores?
EMPTY shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of the decline of a city centre.
Ashley Armstrong, business editor of The Sun, explains why so many retailers are closing their doors.
In many cases, retailers are closing their stores because the rise of online shopping means they are no longer the moneymakers they once were.
Falling store sales and rising personnel costs have made it even more expensive for stores to stay open. In some cases, retailers are closing a store and reopening a new store on the other side of a high street to reflect how a city has changed.
The problem is that when a major store closes, it brings a surge of foot traffic to the local high street, putting more stores at risk of closing.
Retail parks are becoming increasingly popular with shoppers who want easy and free parking at a time when municipalities have increased parking rates in cities.
Many retailers, including Next and Marks & Spencer, have closed their high street stores and instead housed larger stores in better-performing retail parks.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it moved an outdated store in Chesterfield to a new large store in a retail park half a mile away, sales in the area increased by 103 percent.
In some cases, stores are closed when a retailer goes bankrupt, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase, to name a few.
What’s becoming increasingly common is that when a chain goes bankrupt, a rival retailer or private equity firm takes over the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely that many stores or in the same places.