CLOSING UP
Poundland to shut store in DAYS as five close for good – is your local disappearing?
Scroll down to find out what's happening on the high street
RETAIL giant, Poundland, is set to permanently close one of its stores in days to come.
The move comes as the budget retailer schedules four more closures in the coming weeks.
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Poundland will first be pulling the plug on its Clapham Junction station store this Friday, May 2.
It's a devastating blow for commuters, ending nearly three years of trading at the London travel hotspot.
A notice stuck up in the window confirmed the closure, reading: “We’re closing 2nd May… Don’t worry, we have another great store in the Southside Shopping Centre near Specsavers.”
The decision has already left shoppers gutted, with locals spotting the announcement on community pages like Battersea Beat.
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One fan shared their devastation on social media, writing: “Noooo.”
Poundland previously confirmed the move to The Sun, saying: “We know how disappointing our closure at Clapham Junction will be to customers.
"We look forward to welcoming them to our store nearby at the Southside Shopping Centre in Wandsworth.”
But it’s not the only branch disappearing, as Poundland braces for a wave of closures across the country.
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Just four days after Clapham shuts, the Belle Vale Shopping Centre store in Liverpool will also close its doors on Tuesday, May 6.
Next up, the Gravesend branch inside the St George’s Centre will follow suit on Wednesday, May 8, and later this month, shoppers in Brackla, Wales, will also lose their local Poundland on May 24.
SAVE MONEY AT POUNDLAND
And that’s still not the end of it, the Broadstairs store in Kent is expected to close by the end of June, drawing a line under yet another high street outlet.
A spokesperson for Poundland blamed lease issues, adding: “We know how disappointing this will be to customers and colleagues.
"Whenever we have to close a store in these circumstances, we do all we can to look for other opportunities for colleagues and that work is now underway.”
What is happening to Poundland?
The discount chain, which boasts around 825 stores across the UK, has already axed multiple branches in the last year.
Back in March, its Belfast branch at Connswater Shopping Centre shut after the site was put into receivership.
And in October, locals were left devastated after Poundland shut its Maidenhead location, following earlier closures in Sutton Coldfield and Macclesfield.
The wave of shutdowns comes amid growing concerns over the future of the brand.
Last month, parent company Pepco Group confirmed it had hired advisory firm Teneo to oversee a possible sale of Poundland – with a warning that all “strategic options” are now on the table.
The Polish retail giant is reportedly weighing up whether to separate Poundland from the rest of its operations as it pivots towards stronger-performing markets in mainland Europe.
It’s also battling rising costs in the UK, with National Insurance hikes and minimum wage increases piling pressure on the bottom line.
Poundland’s problems were laid bare last year when it reported a £641million plunge in profits for the 12 months to September.
The group blamed the mammoth loss on a non-cash impairment linked to its 2016 UK acquisition, suggesting the chain is now worth far less than initially hoped.
More recently, Poundland saw revenues fall 9.3% in the final three months of 2023, as shoppers cut back during the cost-of-living squeeze.
For now, the chain insists it’s doing what it can to support staff and customers impacted by store closures, but for shoppers who rely on their local Poundland, it’s a case of stock up while you still can.
Other shops leaving the high street
Just this week, Costa announced the closure of its coffee shop in Dorset.
Meanwhile, Beales, one of Britain's oldest department stores, has launched a closing down sale before it shuts its last remaining shop after more than 140 years.
The company will shut its branch in Poole's Dolphin Centre on May 31.
The sale includes fashion, furniture, gifts and cosmetics, being sold for up to 70% off.
Beales chief executive Tony Brown blamed the "devastating impact" of the rise in national insurance contributions and the higher minimum wage for the store closure.
Elsewhere, Huttons in London will shut its store in the Putney Exchange due to excessive energy costs.
The gift shop became a local icon after it opened in the 1990s.
Additionally, high street fashion chain New Look has begun to close stores as it scales back its UK footprint.
It is understood to be shutting nearly 100 stores - equivalent to around a quarter of its 364 shops.
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Stores in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, St Austell, Cornwall and Porth, Rhondda Cynon Taf have launched closing down sales.
Reports suggest that the company has been forced to accelerate the pace of store closures due to tax changes in the Autumn Budget.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025."
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
"By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
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