Huge blow as drivers’ go-to store with 750 branches to shut another site in weeks and shoppers are gutted
A MAJOR retailer with over 750 branches is set to close another store in just weeks.
Halfords is pulling down the shutters on its branch at Liverton Business Park in Exmouth.
The store, which has been trading for over 17 years, will close for the final time on Friday, October 11.
Shoppers have taken to social media to vent their sadness about the closure.
One person posted on Facebook and said: “Well that is a shame.
“Always excellent service there. I hope the employees are given a job somewhere else.”
Another said: “That’s a real shame. I use the store regularly.”
“There’ll be nothing left in Exmouth soon if all these places keep closing,” said a third shopper.
Once the store closes, shoppers wanting to visit Halfords must travel to the Exeter store on Rydon Lane.
A Halfords spokesperson said: “We can confirm our Halfords Exmouth store will be permanently closing on October 11.
“The store has closed as a result of the lease coming to an end.
“We are dedicated to supporting everyone affected and are optimistic that we can provide our colleagues with opportunities at alternative locations.
“We’d like to thank all our customers for their support of the Halfords Exmouth store, which has been serving local customers for 17 years, and look forward to welcoming them at our nearby Halfords Exeter store located within a 22-minute drive.”
Halfords was founded in 1892 and it’s listed on the London Stock Exchange.
The Birmingham-founded chain has closed a handful of stores in recent months – but it still has more than 10,000 staff at over 750 locations across the UK.
A branch on Hambledon Road in Hampshire shut for good on August 9.
Halfords also closed its Washington store on the same date.
The Winnall store in the Moorside Road Retail Park ceased trading on Friday, July 5.
In January, Halfords pulled the shutters down on its branch in The Merry Hill Centre, in Brierley Hill, Dudley
The retailer also closed several branches last year, including those in Cambridge, Lincoln and Gloucestershire.
Some retailers have closed a few branches here and there for various reasons, such as when a store lease has expired.
Other examples of one-off rather than widespread closures are if there are changes in the area, like a shopping centre closing.
Some chains have faced tougher conditions, forcing them to shut dozens of stores, or all of them in the worst case.
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. 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.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase 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.
RETAILERS BUCKING THE TREND
It’s not all bad news on the high street, as several retailers are bucking the trend and opening shops.
German discounter Aldi has announced it will open 35 new UK stores this year. The openings form part of Aldi‘s long-term target of operating 1,500 stores in the UK.
Asda has been opening hundreds of convenience stores as it looks to rival major players Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
Purepay Retail Limited , the parent company of Bonmarché, Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) and Peacocks, Purepay Retail Limited, has said it wants to open 100 new high street stores over the next 18 months.
Home Bargains has said it wants to “eventually have between 800 and 1,000 retail outlets open”.
Primark is also opening new branches and investing and renovating more than a dozen of its existing shops.
Screwfix is set to open 40 new stores nationwide as its owner, Kingfisher, seeks to expand the DIY brand’s national presence.
Tesco has revealed plans to open 70 more stores across the UK over the next year as part of major expansion plans.
WHSmith has turned its focus to the travel side of its business, with plans to open new sites in airports, railway stations and hospitals.