Co-op closes 'lifetime' branch and it's 'the end of an era'
SHOPPERS have been reduced to tears after supermarket giant Co-op closed its 'for life' branch in Dorset.
Local customers say it's the “end of an era” following the closure of the store that opened in the 1950s.
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After more than seventy years in business, the Co-op branch at 350 Ashley Road, Parkstone, closed for good on February 10.
A spokesperson for Co-op confirmed: “Co-op regularly reviews its store premises and only after careful consideration has the decision been made to sell its store in Ashley Road, Parkstone.
“Our priority is to fully support colleagues and secure local jobs, and colleagues will transfer to the new operator.
“Co-op remains committed to serving and supporting its members and customers in the area, and operates three stores within a mile of the Parkstone store, including a store further up Ashley Road.”
It's a sad ending for many locals, as the store has been their go-to for buying groceries and food for years.
One of the local shoppers Irene Cooper said in one letter statement: “Ordinary shoppers are very sad to see the Co-op in Ashley Road close.
“Our family has used the shop since the 1960s, which has been on Ashley Road since the 1950s.
“For many of us, a lifetime.”
International food retailer Makkah Foods has now replaced the Co-op branch after signing a deal to move their Parkstone store from 320 Ashley Road to 350 Ashley Road, where the Co-op branch previously stood.
Speaking about the move, a spokesperson for Mecca said: “Our store in Ashley Road is very tight, and we can't stock half the lines we want.
“We had been looking to do a deal with Co-op for about seven or eight years and luckily we bought them out.”
The new Makkah Foods store is expected to open its doors in early March.
It comes after Co-op announced a series of closures during the UK retail crisis.
The supermarket chain downed the shutters of its branch in Peacehaven, East Sussex, on January 20.
Last year the chain closed its branches in Princess Drive, Grantham, Linthorpe Village, Middlesbrough and Lodge Lane, Bridgnorth.
Another branch in Castle House, Sheffield, closed for good, although nearby stores in Broad Lane and Glossop Road remain open.
The chain's branch in Mildenhall Road, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, also closed on August 19.
And four unfortunate Co-op stores have closed because retail giant Tesco has bought them up and taken them over.
The British retail apocalypse
It comes at a time when the cost of living crisis, high inflation and rising energy costs are forcing retailers to close their outlets.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show that Britain has lost 6,000 stores in five years.
Numerous The big brands have ended up in administration in the past twelve months, including major discounter Wilko.
But it has since returned to the high street under The Range's ownership, and Wilko brand items are stocked in The Range stores.
Both M&Co And Joule are among the well-known brands that went bankrupt in 2022.
Paperchase subsequently collapsed into administration at the end of January last year and all 106 stores later closed for good.
Stores including Next, Boots, The Entertainer, Iceland, Clarks and WHSmith have also suffered.
And Argos, Next, Jack Wills and Poundland have announced they will all permanently close selected branches this year.
In the latest blow, famed cosmetics group The Body Shop has admitted it is set to close up to 200 stores in the UK as the retailer enters administration.
We've made a list of all the Body Shop stores at risk of closing.
British retailers saw the amount of goods sold fall last month, at the fastest pace in three years, as under-pressure households moved some of their Christmas shopping to earlier in the year.
Sales volumes fell 3.2% in December, Office for National Statistics data showed, compared with a 1.4% increase a month earlier.
Several major chains are pulling down the shutters for the last time this month.
The trade association's chief executive, Helen Dickinson OBE, blamed the closures on “crippling” business rates and the impact of coronavirus lockdowns.
The good news
Fortunately, some stores are bucking the trend and opening new locations.
Primark said it will open five new stores, and there will be one in a few weeks.
B&M will open six new locations in early 2024, also in former Wilko stores that it has taken over.
Beauty retailer Sephora is opening its third location in Manchester this year.
Another skincare and makeup icon, Avon, plans to open stores in Britain for the first time in its more than 100-year history.
Costco plans to open 14 new locations in Britain over the next two years, while Greggs will add 160 locations this year.
See the full list of shops opening on the high street in our roundup.