High street giant to shut UK store in HOURS after closing 10 as huge shake-up announced
SHUTTERS DOWN
Check our list to see if your local branch could be impacted
A HIGH street giant will shut a popular UK branch in hours after closing 10 stores.
New Look will close its branch in Hamilton, Scotland today, July 1.
1
The move has come as a blow to locals who said they were "gutted" to see the store vanish and described the move as an "end of an era".
It follows reports made over the weekend that the high street stalwart had hired investment bankers to explore a strategic review of the business.
According to Sky News, owners Alcentra and Brait, are talking to advisers in a move which could trigger an auction of the business.
It means nothing will change for customers during this process and it's important to note that the company is not going bust.
A New Look spokesperson said: “We do not comment on rumour and speculation.
"Management are focused on running the company and executing the strategy for long-term growth. "
"The company is trading well and has supportive shareholders”.
Previously, New Look warned it would shut nearly 100 stores ahead of National Insurance hikes which came into place in April.
Around a quarter of the retailer's 364 stores are at risk when their leases expire.
This equates to about 91 stores, with a significant impact on its 8,000-strong workforce.
The British chain has already shut up to 10 stores so far this year, with another branch in Neath, Wales set to close on August 6.
New Look already closed a site in Birmingham on June 8 and another store in Devizes, Wiltshire closed a few weeks back.
You can check out the full list of New Look closures here:
- New Look, Neath, Wales – closing August 6
- New Look, Hamilton, Scotland – closing July 1
- New Look, Birmingham, Northfield shopping centre – closed June 8
- New Look, Willow Place, Corby – closed June 1
- New Look Bexleyheath, London, closed April 19
- New Look, Preston, closed March 20
- New Look, Valley Retail World in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear – closed March 9
- St Austell branch in Cornwall – closed March 4
- New Look, Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales – closed February 22
- New Look, Wickford, Essex – closed January 24
- New Look, Carillon Court Shopping Centre Loughborough, closed January 21.
- New Look, Devizes, Wiltshire – closed
In February, New Look also exited the Republic of Ireland which resulted in the closure of 26 stores.
At the time, the company said: "New Look’s Irish operation has struggled for some years, impacted by a range of factors including supply-chain and in-market costs, and squeezed consumer spending".
New Look is not the only retailer to feel the pain of rising rents and customers have less money to spend at the till.
River Island will close 33 of its 230 stores, pending approval.
The shops earmarked for closure will stay open until January 2026 to make the most of peak trading.
The closures come as River Island carries out a major restructuring of its store estate.
Elsewhere, Claire's is mulling a sale of the business leaving question marks over the future of nearly 300 stores in the UK.
Hobbycraft and The Original Factory Shop are also shutting branches as part of restructuring efforts.
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."
thesun
