WHSMITH is set to close another store tomorrow as the high street retailer continues to shut locations across the UK.
The stationery chain will pull the shutters down on its Accrington, Lancashire store on Saturday, March 15, after confirming that the lease is expiring.
A WHSmith spokesperson told The Sun: “It is no longer sustainable to continue to trade from this location, and the decision has been taken to close the store as a result of the forthcoming lease expiry.”
The company said it is “disappointed” to be leaving the town but thanked customers for their support over the years.
Staff members will be offered jobs at nearby stores where possible.
News of the closure has sparked reaction online, with one customer saying: “Hope the loyal staff find new jobs quickly – good team there.”
Another added: “Arndale is pretty much dead and buried.”
A third wrote: “The high street is dead and gone sadly.”
Despite shutting down, the store has received glowing reviews from locals.
One happy shopper said: “Excellent WHSmith – a good supply of art materials which is decent quality too.”
Another commented: “One of the best stores for excellent customer service, great choice of books, magazines, greeting cards, pens, board games, and jigsaw puzzles.”
WHSmith, which operates over 1,100 stores, has shut several locations in recent years, including branches in Manchester, Bicester, and Bridgwater.
Staff members will be offered jobs at nearby stores where possible[/caption]
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.
However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
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.”
It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024.
End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker.
It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date.
This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023.
It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns.
The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker.
Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations.
Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes.
Professor Bamfield has 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.”
