'Things are NOT getting better' say shoppers as discount store closes branch
A MAJOR discount supermarket is to close another store after losing 20 branches and shoppers are devastated.
Iceland, which has more than 900 stores in Britain, will close its branch in Rugby Central Shopping center within weeks.
A sign has appeared in the window informing shoppers that the site will close on February 24 and Iceland has confirmed the closure to The Sun.
It reads: “Sorry we are closing. This store will close permanently from 4pm on Saturday 24th February.”
Locals who rely on the store have taken to social media to share their sadness over the closure.
One Facebook user said: “It's NOT getting better, right?”
Another shouted: “Horrible – Iceland to close Rugby Center in February
“First Wilko, now this, at this rate there won't be any stores left!”
While a third wrote: “It's a shame. It just becomes a ghost town.”
And a fourth added: “There will be no reason to go to the city center once it's gone.”
The impending closure of the Rugby store follows Iceland's decision to close its branch at the Rosemary Center in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, on January 13.
It brings the total number of Icelandic stores closed in the past year to twenty.
The full list of stores that have closed is as follows:
- Mill Lane, Bromsgrove – February
- Chineham Shopping Centre, Basingstoke – February
- White Rose Centre, Rhyl – March
- South Street, Newport, Isle of Wight – March
- St Catherine's Place, Bedminster, Bristol – March
- Deiniol Centre, Bangor – March
- Newport – April
- Berwick – April
- Hexham April
- Flint, Wales – May
- Beccles, Suffolk – June
- St David's Place, Swansea – July
- Five – August 12
- Fratton – August 26
- Llanelli – September 2
- Crewe – September 16
- Grange Road, Birkenhead – September 16
- Trinity Road, Huddersfield – October 28
- Fulford Road branch in York – October 28
- Rosemary Center in Mansfield – January 13
In addition, Iceland will close its branch on Portswood Road, Southampton on Saturday 2 March.
This would bring the total number of closures to 22.
It is not clear whether more locations will follow later this year.
However, Iceland normally opens more than twenty new stores every year, while 24 new stores opened in the past year.
This means that the number of stores Iceland has across the country remains around 900.
More main street closures
Several retail chains are facing closures due to rising costs, with some continuing to be hit by declining sales since the coronavirus pandemic.
The high street has been hit hard as shoppers turn to online stores, while household budgets came under pressure from high inflation last year.
That, in combination with high wage and energy costs, caused many to close their shop doors.
In Rugby alone, a number of recognizable shops have disappeared in recent months.
Game announced it would be closing its branch in the city, but an exact date has yet to be confirmed.
Additionally, B&M closed its Rugby store in Clock Towers shopping center in November 2021.
In the UK, a number of other retailers will also close before the end of the month, including Boots, Co-op, Clintons and HMV.
It comes after figures from the Center of Retail Research say more than 10,000 stores will close for the last time in 2023, with almost 120,000 jobs lost in the sector.
The latest Red Flag Alert report from insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor also shows that 47,477 businesses were in critical financial distress in the final three months of last year.
This is an increase of 25.9% from the previous three months and marks the second quarter in a row in which critical financial problems have increased by around a quarter.
But a number of retailers have managed to buck the trend and expand their portfolios.
Poundland and B&M have both announced major plans to grow their store numbers in recent months.
Meanwhile, Asda has said it is on track to have 1,000 stores in Britain and Northern Ireland by March 2024.
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