SHOPPERS have expressed their dismay as a Marks & Spencer branch closed its doors today.
The high street retailer announced plans to shutter its store in Bradford‘s city centre earlier this year.
M&S has had premises at The Broadway shopping centre since in 2015, but May 18 was its last day of doing business.
When first announcing the closure a spokesperson said “changing shopping habits” had prompted a “transformation” within the business.
Shoppers have been left gutted after finding out the M&S store is closing.
One said: “Stores are going left right and centre.”
“We come to this store every week and shop for my wife’s mother,” Ian Scholes, 68, told the BBC.
“She’s got limited mobility, she walks with a walking aid, so we do all the shopping for her ready meals here.
“We’re going to be using more petrol and more time going further afield.”
A third upset shopper cried: “What’s closing next???”
A fourth added: “RIP high street shopping.”
Another said: “But why? The Food Hall is always busy, the cafe is really busy and popular and the clothes areas, both men’s and women’s also always seem to be busy. It doesn’t make sense!”
While a sixth wrote: “The only reason I went to Bradford apart from the bank. So Leeds it is.”
Bradford Civic Society Chair Simon Cunningham said: “Bradford has got a very big year coming up, there is a risk with M&S going that it undermines that positivity.
“We need to make sure we make that link between culture and economic activity and that it gives people enough of a reason to come back into town.
“If we get culture and those attractions right, then retail can come back, but if we don’t then the high street is finished forever.”
Vickie Smith, M&S regional manager, said:Â “We would like to thank all customers who have shopped with us at our Bradford Broadway store.
“The store will close on May 18 and we are continuing discussions with colleagues about what this decision means for them.
“Wherever possible, we will offer them alternative roles with M&S.
“Shopping habits are changing and so we’re rotating our store estate to make sure we have the right stores in the right place and with the right space.”
Ian Ward, General Manager at The Broadway said: “M&S closing its store at The Broadway is a loss for both the city centre and the wider Bradford district.
“We are thinking of all those affected.”
OTHER M&S CLOSURES
It comes as part of M&S’s plans to shake up its high street store presence, closing 110 branches but opening 100.
In October 2022, the posh retailer announced that 67 “lower productivity” branches would shut down over the following five years.
The 67 sites came as part of a wider radical restructuring plan first announced in 2016, which aimed to close 110 stores by 2022.
The retailer which runs 405 stores across the country, shut down locations in Manchester, Swindon and Birmingham between August and November last year.
The retailer has recently announced a proposal to close its Redhill store in Surrey.
The store is located in the Belfry Shopping Centre in Redhill and locals say that closing the store would “kill the town”.
M&S also announced the closure of its Walworth store in South London, and its home store in Kingditch Trading Estate in Tewkesbury, Cheltenham.
If you want to know if your local might be next, we have the full list of M&S stores that are marked for closure in 2024.
However, it is not all bad news for the retailer, or shoppers as in January 2023, it announced it would open 20 more stores over the financial year.
At the same time, it said it’s opening 104 new “bigger and fresher” food stores.
In the last 12 months, it has opened 22 sites including in Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester.
Marks and Spencer is not the only retailer shaking things up in a bid to survive the ongoing difficult retail climate.
Retailers closing stores in 2024
RETAILERS have been hit by soaring inflation and a downturn in spending due to the cost of living crisis.
High energy costs are a move to shopping online are also taking their toll.
While some high street shops have closed due to businesses opening up in different locations such as larger retail parks.
Shops may also close due to a number of other reasons, such as rising rents.
We explain which retailers are closing in 2024:
- Argos – The brand announced plans to close 100 standalone UK branches last year as it looks to move away from the high street and focus on expanding its presence in supermarkets.
- B&Q – The chain has over 300 shops across the UK, with two stores closing this year due to leases not being renewed. It has plans to open more in 2024 too.
- Boots – The health and beauty chain announced that it would be closing 300 stores last July. Closures are ongoing and this will see the retailer’s estate reduced from 2,200 to 1,900 shops.
- Clintons – Clintons mulled plans to close 38 shops in a bid to avoid insolvency late last year. We’ve listed the stores affected.
- Costa Coffee – The caffeine giant has around 2,000 sites nationwide, so chances are you’ll have one near you. The chain has shut the doors to dozens of its sites recently. We’ve revealed which stores are due to close this year.
- Iceland – The supermarket has more than 900 stores but closed nearly two dozen sites in 2023, and more selected shops are due to shut.
- Lidl – The supermarket, which has 950 stores, is changing up shop locations, which has meant that some stores have to close. But the retailer is also looking to open 12 new supermarkets.
- M&S – M&S, which runs 405 stores across the country, has been closing a string of branches across the country in a blow for shoppers. It’s not all bad news, though, because the chain also has big plans to open dozens of new shops as well.
- Trespass – The firm announced in July last year that it was closing six branches, but more are on the way.
- WHSmith – The retail giant, which runs over 1,100 stores, has shuttered eight stores since March 2023, but more are coming.
What else is happening on the high street
Other retailers have been slimming down their number of high street branches, such as Iceland, Boots and Matalan.
A combination of rising rents, energy bills and the cost of living has meant that many retailers have been unable to survive.
Several big retailers have fallen into administration in the past year including Wilko, Paperchase, and most recently The Body Shop and Ted Baker.
The Body Shop collapsed into administration on February 13, putting its almost 198 branches at risk of closure.
Since then it has closed down 42 locations and announced that a further 21 branches will also close.
It is not only shops that are disappearing from our town centres, big banks are shutting up shop too.
As more customers move to online banking there is no need for some high street branches, and some just are no longer getting the footfall to justify premises being open.
Lloyds, Barclays and RBS are among those closing down premises.
If you are wondering if your local town might be affected by closures you can check out our full list of high street shops and supermarkets closing forever in May.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is “less bad” than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” Prof Bamfield said.
“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023’s biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
Meanwhile, a big high street fashion chain with 130 stores is set to shut a “fabulous” branch in a matter of days.
Plus, shoppers have been left gutted after a popular high street retailer with more than 1,400 stores shut one of its branches for good today.
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