High street ‘on life support’ as well-known brand with 240 stores slashes prices ahead of branch closure in weeks
BRITAIN’s high street market seems to be on life support as top brands rampantly shut down their stores nationwide.
Toy retailer GAME is the latest to close down outlets in the high streets amid the nation’s retail apocalypse.
Customers are now bidding farewell to the video gaming and merchandise shop in Grimsby as it prepares to shut down next month for good.
The Grimsby branch of GAME previously closed in March 2018 but was rescued a few months later, local media Grimsby Live reports.
But now the store appears to shut its door once again, with large signs saying “closing down sale, everything must go” all over.
The shop is currently offering a 20 per cent discount on all remaining items to clear the stock before it closes on Sunday, March 17.
With more than 240 stores across the UK, GAME is rampantly shutting down its high street shops.
Just a few days ago, the retailer announced it will close the Rhyl high street branch in spring after facing a string of losses.
A spokesperson for Frasers Group said: “It is with regret that we announce GAME Rhyl will be closing in Spring.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank our staff for their hard work and dedication.
“Where possible, we are committed to finding new roles within the Group for staff.”
GAME, owned by the Fraser Group, shut down seven more stores last month.
This includes branches in Exeter, Witney and Huntingdon which welcomed its last customers in January.
Last year, three GAME branches closed in Plymouth, Cambridge and Newport, Wales.
However, the Newport branch reopened in a nearby Sports Direct unit just two days later.
In October, House of Fraser, also owned by the Frasers Group, confirmed it will close its branch in Lakeside Shopping Centre, Grays, in January next year.
It has closed three stores in 2023 already, including in Cardiff, Guildford and Birmingham.
Sports Direct, also run by the Frasers Group, has closed branches in Swindon, Coventry, Blackpool and Salisbury in recent months too.
But it’s not all bad news for the group, as it has also started opening new “concept stores” as it looks to shake up its portfolio.
The first one of this kind, featuring popular brands like Sports Direct and Game, opened in Norwich in September.
Two others have opened in Blackpool and Sheffield in recent months.
The Frasers Group also recently snapped up luxury clothing retailer Matches Fashion in a deal worth £52million.
Meanwhile, designer clothing chain Choice, bought by The Frasers Group last year, recently pulled the shutters down on its Bromley site but replaced it with Flannels.
Britain’s retail apocalypse
It comes as the cost of living crisis, high inflation and rising energy costs are forcing retailers to close down their outlets.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) found the UK had lost 6,000 stores over five years.
Numerous high street brands have collapsed into administration in the last 12 months, including major discounter Wilko.
But it has since returned to the high street under The Range’s ownership, and Wilko-branded items are being stocked in The Range stores.
Both M&Co and Joules are among the well-known brands which went bust in 2022.
Paperchase then collapsed into administration at the end of January last year and all 106 stores later closed for good.
Stores including Next, Boots, The Entertainer, Iceland, Clarks and WHSmith have also suffered.
And Argos, Next, Jack Wills and Poundland have announced they will all shut selected branches forever this year.
In the latest blow, famous cosmetic group The Body Shop has admitted it is on the brink of closing some 200 stores across the UK as the retailer entered administration.
We have created a list of all the Body Shop stores that are at risk of shutting down.
British retailers saw the amount of goods they sold drop last month at its fastest rate in three years as under-pressure families shifted part of their Christmas shop to earlier in the year.
Sales volumes dipped by 3.2% in December, data from the Office for National Statistics suggests, down from a rise of 1.4% a month before.
Several big-name chains are pulling down the shutters for the final time this month.
The trade association’s chief executive Helen Dickinson OBE blamed the closures on “crippling” business rates and the impact of coronavirus lockdowns.
The good news
Thankfully some shops are bucking the trend and opening new locations.
Primark said it will open five new branches, and one is coming in just weeks.
B&M is opening six new locations at the start of 2024, including in former Wilko stores it has taken over.
Beauty retailer Sephora is opening its third location in Manchester this year.
Another skincare and make up icon, Avon, plans to open shops in the UK for the first time in its over 100-year history.
Costco is looking to open 14 new locations in the UK over the next two years, while Greggs will add up to 160 branches this year.
See the full list of shops opening on the high street in our round up.