A MAJOR fashion brand has unexpectedly shut down one of its branches as the company is hit by tough trading conditions.
Superdry previously reported looking at various “cost-saving” options to avoid going bust.
But the fashion giant location has now announced the shock closure of its branch in Norwich on Saturday.
The store at the Chantry Place has pulled down its shutters for good with signs plastered on the door, saying “This store is now closed.”
It was seen being cleared out of stock as clothes and displays disappeared from the shop floor.
Only empty mannequins could be spotted from the store’s windows today.
Punters voiced their disappointment online after the closure.
One wrote on Facebook: “Sad to be honest how all the shops are shutting! Soon there will be nothing left!!”
While another tagged their friends, worrying about where they would shop instead.
Although the exact reason for closure isn’t clear, it was earlier reported that Superdry was considering a major restructuring which could include store closures and job cuts.
The firm experienced a sharp slump in sales over the half-year to October and warned shareholders its fortunes could still take some time to turn around.
The retail business, which employs around 3,350 globally, said it also cut around £20 million in costs over the half-year and is on track for over £40 million in savings for the current year.
This saw the business close 12 stores over the first half of the financial year, taking its estate down 216 owned stores – 96 of which are located in the UK.
Chief executive Julian Dunkerton said in January : “Christmas trading proved challenging, and we do not expect market conditions to get any easier in the near term.
“This has clearly been a difficult period for Superdry.
“A challenging consumer retail market, set against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty and some remarkably unseasonal weather conditions have all combined to weaken the financial performance of the group.”
In August 2023, Superdry secured up to £25million in funding from Hilco Capital.
The business said the extra funding would help accelerate its £35million cost reduction programme, announced in April.
HIGH STREET WOES
Superdry is not the only high street retailer facing harsh trading conditions as the sector tries to bounce back from the Covid pandemic and the economy faces an ongoing cost of living crisis.
Other retailers, such as Iceland, Boots, and Matalan, have been reducing the number of their high street branches.
Rising rents, energy bills, and the cost of living have also caused many retailers to fail.
This has left some remaining retailers grappling with budgets and having no choice but to close stores to cut costs.
Several big retailers have fallen into administration in the past year, including Wilko, Paperchase, and most recently, The Body Shop and Ted Baker.
For the most part, supermarkets have braved the storm as they provide essential items like food and drink but other retailers have been less fortunate.
The turmoil has sent several retailers into administration The Body Shop is currently going through administration and announced plans to close half of its 198 stores.
Boots announced it would be closing 300 stores over the next year as part of plans to evolve its brand.
Wilko collapsed into administration last year after being hit hard by inflationary pressures, competition from rivals and supply chain challenges.
However, it’s not all bad news for the high street, as several other retailers and hospitality venues have plans to expand.
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.
Beer giant Heineken announced plans to invest £39million to help reopen 62 previously shuttered British pubs.
Aldi has announced that it will open 35 new UK stores.
The openings form part of Aldi‘s long-term target of 1,500 stores in the UK.
The supermarket is set to invest £550million in expanding its UK footprint this year alone.
Aldi said each new store opening will create around 40 new jobs on average.
In recent months, Asda has been opening hundreds of convenience stores as it seeks to rival major players Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
B&M plans to open “not less than” 45 brand new stores across the UK in each of the next two consecutive years.