Shoppers sob as a retail chain with 240 British branches has to close their stores

SHOPPERS have said “another one is biting the dust” as a 240-branch retail chain plans to close a store for good.

Game’s branch in Newton Abbot, Devon, will close its doors permanently in less than two weeks.

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There are already signs in the window that say “all stock must go” and that the store is closing for good.

It is believed the Market Walk store will close for the final time on March 17.

The news was posted on a Facebook page dedicated to the city and fans were not happy with the move.

One commenter wrote: “Another bites the dust on market walks.

Another said: “My old shop. A bit of a shame, but I saw it coming from a mile away.”

A third person said: “This is such a shame for our city.”

The move comes after the Frasers Group-owned games retailer closed its city center branch in Exeter at the end of January and later moved it elsewhere in the city.

The original location for the Game outlet in Exeter, in the Guildhall Shopping Centre, will be taken over by health food retailer Grape Tree, which will open later this month.

A branch of Game has now opened in the city’s Rydon Lane Retail Park.

Game is also closing its Grimsby branch this month.

Game also closed two other branches in January, along with its main store in Exeter.

One in Witney closed on January 7, while one in Huntingdon closed a week later.

Three Game branches had previously closed in Plymouth, Cambridge and Newport, Wales.

However, the Newport branch reopened just two days later in a nearby Sports Direct unit.

But it’s not all bad news for the group, as the company has also started opening new ‘concept stores’ as it looks to shake up its portfolio.

The first of its kind, featuring popular brands such as Sports Direct and Game, opened in Norwich in September.

Two others opened later in Blackpool and Sheffield.

The Frasers Group also recently acquired luxury clothing retailer Matches Fashion in a deal worth £52 million.

The battle in the Hoogstraat

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 this 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.

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