THE Original Factory Shop is set to call time on another store with a number of sites at risk of closure.
A branch in Middlewich is now the latest store to be marked for closure.
A closing down sale has been launched with up to 50% off some lines in the store.
Locals have branded the closure in the Cheshire town as “another blow” for the high street.
A concerned shopper warned there would be “nothing left” in the area as “everything is closing down”.
While another said: “Your store was a highlight of my days during a really tough time when I lived in Middlewich.”
And a third added: “This shop will be greatly missed.”
The exact date of when the store has not been confirmed yet. but The Sun will update this piece when we find out more.
Up to 11 TOFS stores are already to set to close this month, including sites across Worcestershire, Durham and Cumbria .
Meanwhile, another five stores across Nairn, Market Drayton, Troon, Blairgowrie and Castle Douglas have been placed up for sale.
The Original Factory Shop has told The Sun that negotiations are ongoing with landlords – making it unclear whether these shops will remain open.
It comes as part of a major restructuring carried out by new owner Modella Capital with a number of loss making stores having to close as result.
A spokesperson told The Sun: “Closing stores is always a tough decision, and we are committed to keeping as many stores open as possible.
“This is, however, dependent on successful negotiations with landlords as we strive to build a sustainable and successful business for the future.”
They added: “These negotiations are commercially sensitive and so we cannot comment on which stores are affected.”
You can see the full list of store closures here:
- Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire – June 26
- Perth – June 28
- Chester Le Street, County Durham – June 28
- Arbroath, Angus – June 28
- Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire – June 28
- Pershore, Worcestershire – June 28
- Normanton, West Yorkshire – June 28
- Peterhead, Aberdeenshire – June 28
- Shaftesbury, Dorset – June 28
- Staveley, Cumbria – July 12
- Middlewich – TBC
The following stores are also up for sale:
- Nairn
- Market Drayton
- Troon
- Blairgowrie
- Castle Douglas
What’s been happening with The Original Factory Shop?
Private equity firm Modella bought The Original Factory Shop back in February and has since launched a restructuring effort to renegotiate rents at 88 TOFS stores.
Modella is known for picking up struggling retailers, having also recently acquired Hobbycraft and WHSmith‘s high street shops.
It is set to rebrand all WHSmith high street stores to TGJones, and has brought in advisers to look at potential options for Hobbycraft.
At the end of April, Modella drew up plans to initiate a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) for TOFS.
Companies often use CVAs to prevent insolvency, which could otherwise result in store closures or the collapse of the entire business.
They allow firms to explore different strategies such as negotiating reduced rent rates with landlords.
TOFS previously told The Press and Journal that a “number of loss-making stores will have to close” as part of the restructuring.
It said at the time: “Closing stores is always a tough decision and we are committed to keeping as many stores open as possible.
“This is, however, dependent on successful negotiations with landlords as we strive to build a sustainable and successful business for the future.”
The Original Factory shop has already shuttered more than a dozen stores over the past 12 months.
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.”
