Marks and Spencer, WHSmith and more brands to close stores this week
Store closures have been an ongoing battle for high street shoppers for months, with many retailers cutting back on their numbers of physical shops.
While many have closed slowly over the years, others have exited shopping districts with big names like Debenhams now gone for good and others on the way to existing entirely online.
The likes of Ted Baker, House of Fraser and The Body Shop are in the process of shutting large quantities of branches for good, meanwhile, Boots and Marks and Spencer are focused on adapting to suit changing shopping habits.
This week marks yet another busy time for brands pulling down the shutters on stores, with at least three big names set to cease trading in some areas.
Here’s the full list of locations with confirmed store closures – is your local area affected?
Stores closing this week
Marks and Spencer
One M&S store will be gone for good by the end of the week. The Queensgate Shopping Centre site in Peterborough has confirmed its closing date will be on April 20, 2024.
Regional manager Craig Burton said: “Shopping habits are changing, so we’re rotating our store estate to make sure we have the right stores to offer customers.
“In recent years, we have invested over £31million in our stores in the East of England and we look forward to working with the local council to bring forward plans for further future investment into Peterborough and the wider local area.”
A staggering 67 sites are expected to close in next four years, the brand confirmed.
Boots
The pharmacy giant previously announced plans to close 300 pharmacies which would see stores drop from 2,200 to just 1,900.
So far, Boots has closed down more than two dozen stores in the UK, including in areas like York, Exter and Leicester. While many are yet to have an exact closing date confirmed, these are all of the locations set to be affected later this year.
- Lurgan, Northern Ireland – no date
- Chard Road, Plymouth – no date
- Mannamead Road, Plymouth – no date
- Claremont Street, Plymouth – no date
- Portland Walk, Barrow – no date
- Gestridge Road, Teignbridge – no date
- Front Street, Prudhoe – no date
Boots has reassured customers that they will be informed of local store closures before the sites cease trading.
WHSmith
In June 2023, the stationery giant confirmed it would pull the plug on opening any more high street branches and instead, focus on its portfolio elsewhere.
As a result, the brand will close some existing sites to make way for new, well-purposed branches. This weekend, WHSmith will close its branch in Margate, Kent on April 20.
The brand publicly claimed that opening high street stores would “just be a duplication” and that it would instead expand in other formats, specifically train stations, airports and other areas.
