‘Ghost town’ has shoppers grumbling as bargain fashion chain has to close a new store

A HIGH street fashion chain has closed another branch, after already closing more than 200 branches.

Peacocks, which once had more than 400 stores in the UK, closed another of its stores on March 16.

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Peacocks fell into administration in 2020 and was forced to close just over 200 of its 400 stores.

The chain was rescued in April 2021 and was able to keep its remaining stores open, saving 2,000 jobs.

But now the retailer has had to close more doors in a desperate bid to stay afloat.

The latest to bite the bullet is the Peacocks branch at Clarendon Square Mall in Hyde, which will close for good on Saturday, March 16.

According to Tameside Correspondent, the nearest branch is now Ashton-under-Lyne.

The Peacocks branch in Hyde even had a closing sale in 2020, although it reopened after Covid restrictions were lifted.

Now it appears the closure is permanent.

It is not the only Peacocks store that will disappear from the high street in the coming weeks.

The retailer has announced it will close its store on Wales’ high street Merthyr Tydfil on March 23.

However, the cheap fashion chain will close with a bang and keep a mega discount of 30 percent on all sales.

Meanwhile, the store at Ashford’s County Square Shopping Center in Kent will also close on March 23.

The unit has just reopened after ‘essential electrical work’ kept it closed for more than a week.

Elsewhere, Peacocks in Camborne, Cornwall, will close on April 3.

In addition, it is also closing its branch in Boscombe, Bournemouth on April 6, which is a blow to locals.

The retailer announced news of the closure on its Facebook page, where a closure notice was also displayed in the branch window.

Peacocks fell into administration in November 2020 and closed half of the 420 stores they had at the time, dealing a major blow to the high street.

The fashion retailer went bankrupt after struggling to do business during the coronavirus pandemic and multiple lockdowns.

However, it has slowly returned to the high street and has built its portfolio back up to around 350 stores.

And in October last year, the chain announced plans to open seven new stores in Wales, England and Scotland.

It has not confirmed the exact opening dates for the new stores.

It comes as several other major chains have taken serious hits on the high street.

Last year, popular retailers such as Wilko fell under administration and disappeared from the shopping streets for good.

Body Shop also recently went into administration and announced it would close almost half of its 198 stores.

Seven branches have already closed with immediate effect, but administrators of the major retailer said they wanted to “safeguard the future of the brand” with the restructuring.

Struggling fashion brand Superdry is also exploring various “cost-saving options” after reports it is considering a major restructuring.

A Sports Direct branch in Stroud, Gloucestershire, will pull down the shutters for good at the end of March – after closing its branch in Central Six Retail Park, Coventry, at the end of January.

Supermarket chains such as Lidl, Tesco and Iceland have been closing their stores since the beginning of 2023.

And budget retailers such as Poundstretcher and Argos are also struggling to keep some of their own stores afloat.