Watch The Sun’s business editor Ashley Armstrong explain why retailers close branches
MARKS and Spencer has revealed the exact date it will close another branch for good.
The posh shop, which has 405 stores across the UK, is set to close a popular branch, much to the surprise of shoppers.
The news was announced a few weeks ago, although no date had been set for the closure.
Now we can reveal the exact date the M&S store in the Belfry Shopping Centre in Redhill, Surrey, will close is August 17.
Customers were left stunned by the news, with many taking to social media to share their surprise.
Reacting to the news on social media, one person said: “It would be sad as they do good business.”
Writing on Facebook, another shopper said: “Nothing will be left.”
Another added: “Oh no this is bad news!”
While a third commented: “Noooo. It would kill the town. Literally.”
The posh shop chain said the decision to close the store was made due to changing shopping habits.
It comes as part of M&S’ plans to close some of its “lower productivity” stores as part of a five-year plan to shake up its branch portfolio.
Andy Nash, manager at the Belfry Shopping Centre in Redhill, said: “We are obviously sad to hear that M&S has made the decision to close their Redhill store, which has been much loved by our shoppers for the last 33 years.
“We wish all of the M&S staff well and thank them for being part of the Belfry’s history.”
But it might not be all bad news for locals because M&S said it is considering investing in a new M&S food hall in the borough of Reigate and Banstead.
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.
M&S also announced the closure of its Walworth store in South London, and its home store in Kingditch Trading Estate in Tewkesbury, Cheltenham.
The site at The Broadway Shopping Centre closed its doors for the last time on May 18.
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.
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 82 locations.
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.
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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