Major retailer to shut ANOTHER store after shutting 18 before Christmas as it launches huge 70% off closing down sale
A MAJOR retailer is set to shut another of its stores as it launches a giant 70% off closing down sale.
The Dobbies Garden Centre branch in Rothley, Leicester, is the latest in a string of stores to close after one shut in Hare’s Hatch days ago.
The site will shutter permanently on February 14 with a message on the retailer’s website thanking customers “for your support”.
The next nearest store is in Atherstone while shoppers can continue to buy items on the Dobbies website.
The Rothley branch has launched a giant up to 70% off closing down sale with shoppers keen to bag a bargain.
Posting on Facebook, one said: “Dobbies at Rothley never seen it so busy. Closing down sale.”
Another added: “I went a couple of weeks ago. Everything 50% off, but now it’s starting to look empty.”
Others have been left devastated after finding out the branch will close for good in just over a week.
One said: “So sad, love the place.”
Another added: “Liked going there for lunch especially in the conservatory part or in the summer outside.”
The closure of the Rothley store comes after Dobbies, which sells garden furniture, pet supplies and plants, shut 18 of its branches before Christmas.
The retailer shut 12 larger sites following approval from the courts.
A total of 10 shut with an eleventh site in Antrim, Northern Ireland, originally earmarked for closure saved.
Dobbies said two additional garden centres in Morpeth and Stapleton would be moved to other garden centre operators.
This followed six Little Dobbies branches closing in November, including in Bristol, Richmond and Chiswick.
This is the full list of Little Dobbies stores that closed:
- Little Dobbies – Bristol
- Little Dobbies – Richmond
- Little Dobbies – Cheltenham
- Little Dobbies – Edinburgh Stockbridge
- Little Dobbies – Chiswick
- Little Dobbies – Westbourne Grove
Dobbies now continues to operate around 60 stores across the UK.
DIY and garden centre chains struggle
The retail sector has been hit hard in recent years, with a number of chains closing physical branches across the UK.
DIY and garden centre retailers have not been immune, with big name brand Homebase falling into administration last year.
Yesterday, administrators confirmed 33 Homebase branches would close in February alone, after 13 shut last month.
Meanwhile, last Spring, Kingfisher, which owns B&Q and Screwfix, revealed its annual profits had slumped by more than a quarter.
The company reported a 25.1% drop in underlying pre-tax profits to £568million for the year to January 31, 2024.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) predicts over 17,000 shops will close this year as businesses tackle an increase in employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) and the national minimum wage.
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.
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