IT has been a tough few years for high streets across the UK, with many retailers pulling the shutters down on sites and more likely to follow in 2025.
Shoppers have faced a swathe of closures on their local high streets in recent years as many favourite chains have closed branches.
The high street is facing further store closures in 2025[/caption]
High street shops have seen lower footfall and less money landing in the tills as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.
People have naturally cut back on retail therapy as they have found they have less cash in their back pockets.
The decline in spending along with high rents and costs, have already forced many chains to pursue restructuring plans and close locations.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed almost 10,500 UK shops closed for the final time in 2023.
The 12-month period also saw more than 119,000 jobs lost across the sector.
According to the centre’s data 2024 had already seen 8,543 stores closed by mid-November and more than 130,000 retail jobs lost.
And, several retailers have warned that October’s budget, which saw employer National Insurance contributions increased, will lead them to increase prices and possibly reduce their outlet count.
The start of 2025 will be no different with WHSmith, Monki and Millets all planning closures.
Others are also likely to evaluate their estates following the crucial Christmas period and ahead of the implementation of those budget measures.
Of course, it’s not all bad news. In some cases branches will be replaced with bigger and better shops.
Retailers regularly open and close shops for a number of reasons – not just because they are struggling.
For example, they may have a store nearby that is performing better or it may be because they want to pick a spot that has higher footfall, such as in a retail park.
Here are all the shops we know are shutting next year so far…
WHSmith
Stationery retailer WHSmith will close its Winton branch in Bournemouth, Dorset, in 2025.
The shop will close for good on February 15.
It comes after the retailer closed its Boscombe branch in the same town in June 2024.
WHSmith has shuttered 10 stores since March 2023, including sites in Manchester and Bicester.
The closures also included branches in Somerset and Sale, which closed in September.
Despite these latest closures WHSmith has 1,400 UK stores and is on the expansion trail.
It had announced plans to open 110 new shops in 2024 in airports, railway stations and hospitals.
More than 50 of them were in the US and 15 in the UK. The retailer also opened a series of Toys R Us concessions in its UK stores.
While still expanding, WHSmith had announced plans to cut costs of up to £10million, following a 4% drop in sales.
Monki
H&M-owned fashion chain Monki has announced plans to close its seven UK stores next year.
Those earmarked for closure include a site on London‘s Carnaby Street and Manchester‘s Arandale Centre.
H&M has said it will close Monki stores or merge them with another of its fashion brands, Weekday.
The Scandinavian retail giant wants to blend the two brands together to make a one-stop shop that appeals to young shoppers.
H&M has not yet confirmed exactly when the stores will shut for good.
The Entertainer
Toy giant The Entertainer has confirmed plans to close its outlet at the Cameron Toll shopping centre in Edinburgh on January 4 2025.
It will mark the end of a decade-long run for the shop, which opened in 2014.
No reason has been given for the closure, but boss Andrew Murphy said October’s Budget would impact the firm’s finances.
He said the government’s decision to increase employer’s National Insurance contributions had forced the group to abandon plans to open two new stores.
Stores opening in 2025
Loungers
Restaurant chain Loungers is adding seven new Lounge sites to its portfolio of 277 restaurants across the UK over the next few months. The group is continuing its rapid expansion as it looks to secure its sale to Fortress Investment Group.
Primark
Primark will continue to expand its UK estate with 2025 openings planned for Parkway, Newbury and Epsom.
The retailer has been expanding rapidly with a number of openings in 2024.
Holland and Barrett
Holland and Barrett has announced plans to open 50 stores in 2025. the expansion is expected to include standalone stores and instore concessions.
Co-op
Central Co-op is offloading 19 food stores in various locations across middle England.
Three of the food stores will reopen as B&M branches, while the remaining 16 are being sold to Samy Limited.
Independent convenience chain Samy currently runs 32 Budgens, Spar, Londis and Premier stores across the UK.
Central Co-op said the 19 branches had been “financially unsustainable for some time”.
All 19 shops will be shut wit by the end of May 2025.
Despite the closures, Central Co-op opened five new food stores in 2024 and refurbished a further 35.
Millets
Millets is set to close six stores and has launched huge closing down sales at the branches.
All the affected stores are expected to close their doors early in 2025.
Four of the locations will be reopened and rebranded as Go Outdoors sites, a sister brand to Millets.
These include sites in Lowestoft, Douglas, York and Grimsby.
A further Millets site in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, will not be rebranded and is set to close permanently in January.
JD Outdoors, the owner of Millets, appears to be prioritising the expansion of its sister brand Go Outdoors.
There are now 96 Go Outdoors sites across the county.
Homebase
Four Homebase stores in Derry/Londonderry, Inverurie, Omagh and Fife are expected to close in the new year.
The retailer closed six sites in December, with all 10 having been acquired by Sainsbury’s to be converted to supermarkets.
A further 70 Homebase stores were saved after being purchased by the owner of The Range, when the retailer fell into administration.
Homebase had been owned by Hilco Capital, which had closed 93 stores since its takeover in 2018.
Hilco bought the hardware store chain for £1 from Australian firm Wesfarmers, which had paid £340million for the brand.
Why are retailers closing stores?
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is “less bad” than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” Prof Bamfield said.
“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023’s biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
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