“Where did it go?” shoppers crying as bargain store leaves mall
Shoppers have been left confused after a bargain store left a shopping center last weekend.
Discount store Bargain Land, located in the Hardshaw Centre, St Helens, closed its doors to shoppers for the final time this weekend.
It comes just months before plans to demolish the shopping center.
Bargain Land fans will now be directed to the chain's sister store in St Mary's Arcade.
A sign on the Bargain Land store reads: “We have moved to Discount Land on Church Square, Discount Land 6/8, St Mary's Arcade, St Helens.”
The mall, which opened in the 1980s, is expected to close at the end of May 2024. Saint Helen's star.
Bargain Land is not the first store to leave the building.
TJ Hughes and Bon Marche left the Hardshaw Center earlier this year.
Several stores, including Heron Foods, Alpha News, Womble Inn and Waterfields, remain open.
However, all other stores will move in the coming months.
The Hardshaw Center will be demolished as part of the first phase of the redevelopment of St Helens town centre.
The English Cities Fund and St Helens Council will pay for this as a partnership project.
The redevelopment of the area around the shopping center includes a new bus station, the construction of offices, a hotel, a market hall with new food and drink stalls and new housing, including apartments and single-family homes.
The Hardshaw Center isn't the only shopping center to close this year.
Keel Row Shopping Center in Blyth will close for the final time on Thursday, February 29.
It came after the municipality acquired the shopping complex in July 2023.
But it has now been confirmed that it will be demolished, meaning the remaining shops will have to leave the building within a few weeks.
Bonmarché will leave the site on February 20.
Other main street closures
High energy costs and the move to online shopping after the pandemic are also taking their toll, with many high street stores struggling to continue.
The high street has seen a slew of closures in the past year and more are in the pipeline.
Several major brands have also collapsed, such as Wilko and Paperchase.
Last week, The Body Shop confirmed it had gone bankrupt, leaving 200 stores at risk of closure.
The Sun has compiled a full list of The Body Shop stores in Britain at risk of being lost forever.
But there is a glimmer of hope now that official figures show stores have bounced back from a record poor performance in December.
The office According to National Statistics (ONS), retail sales, including online retailers, increased by 3.4% in January, compared to a fall of 3.3% in December.
It was the fastest increase since April 2021, when non-essential retailers were allowed to reopen after the third national lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Several major chains are pulling down the shutters for the last time this month.
Lidl and Iceland are closing stores between now and February 29.
Matalan, which currently operates more than 230 stores in the UK, is pulling down the doors on one of its branches before the end of the month.
The retailer, known for selling everything from clothing to home and children's wear, will close its store in The Core Shopping Center at The Headrow, Leeds, on February 24, according to local news reports.
Boots has also revealed it will close 300 stores over time next year as part of plans to develop its brand.