Iconic homeware chain with 59 stores to close branch in move that will leave shoppers devastated
AN iconic homeware chain is shutting one of its branches in a move that customers have branded a “shame”.
Lakeland is closing its Syon Park store in west London on June 6, the store has confirmed to The Sun.
Disappointed customers shared the news on Facebook, with one saying: “Just heard that, sadly, Lakeland in Syon Park is closing down.”
Another commenter said: “Oh no. What a shame.”
A third person hinted the store had been struggling with customer footfall.
They said: “It is always so quiet in there, such a shame as the staff are so friendly and helpful.”
Lakeland has 59 shops across the UK and employs about 1,000 staff.
The popular store sells thousands of kitchen and home products.
However the chain’s future has been called into question in recent months as it has been searching for a new owner.
Sky News reported last month that Hilco Capital, the ex owner of Homebase and HMV, is poised to take over Lakeland.
The retailer had been searching for new funding in the tens of millions of pounds to navigate challenging economic conditions, including increased national insurance costs for employers.
It hired financial advisers earlier this year to explore its options.
The family-run business was launched 61 years ago and is now spearheaded by the three sons of founder Alan Rayner.
The brothers selected advisory company Teneo to help them navigate a potential sale back in January 2025.
Months of discussions have followed with various potential buyers, including Modella Capital – which recently acquired WHSmith’s high street shops.
The closure in Syon Park comes after one of Lakeland’s other stores was relocated.
The store in the Eastgate Shopping Centre, Inverness, was shut down and moved to the Simpsons Garden Centre in mid-March.
Lakeland did not give a reason for the move.
Customers said at the time that the closure was a “loss” for the shopping centre.
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.