DRIVE DOWN
Major retailer with over 750 branches to abruptly shut ‘amazing’ store as drivers sob ‘another big name going from city’
See our business editor's take on closing shops below
A MAJOR retailer with over 750 branches is to abruptly shut an "amazing" store leaving drivers sobbing.
Car and bike specialist Halfords is closing its shop in Winchester, Hampshire, for good next month.
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The Moorside Road Retail Park in Winnall will cease trading on Friday, July 5.
A spokesperson for the firm said it is supporting staff affected and is "hopeful" of being able to offer roles at alternative sites.
Google reviews show customers gushing over the shop, with Lucy Barrett saying in May the staff were "amazing" during a recent visit.
She added: "Brilliant customer service, polite and helpful! Never had a problem with this shop."
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While Phill O'Fee said: "Good shopping and product experience. Friendly professional staff and quick service."
A Halfords spokesperson said: “We can confirm our Halfords Winchester store will be permanently closing.
"We are working hard to support all of those affected and are hopeful of being able to offer those colleagues roles at alternative locations.
"We’d like to thank all our customers for their support of the Winchester store and look forward to welcoming them at our Halfords Eastleigh, Halfords Andover, and Halfords Basingstoke all located within a 20 minutes drive."
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It is unclear why this specific store is closing.
It comes after Currys, which was also located on the retail park, was closed last year.
Shoppers are rushing to Halfords to buy £1 product 'better than a hot water bottle' for keeping warm
The reason given was that it was no longer economically viable.
It comes after DIY lovers were devastated when a popular B&Q branch closed yesterday (June 8).
Why are retailers closing shops?
Empty shops have become an eyesore on many British high streets and are often symbolic of a town centre’s decline.
The Sun's business editor Ashley Armstrong explains why so many retailers are shutting their doors.
In many cases retailers are shutting stores because they are no longer the money makers they once were because of the rise of online shopping.
Falling store sales and rising staff costs have made it even more expensive for shops to stay open. In some cases, retailers are shutting a store and reopening a new shop at the other end of a high street to reflect how a town has changed.
The problem is that when a big shop closes, footfall falls across the local high street, which puts more shops at risk of closing.
Retail parks are increasingly popular with shoppers, who want to be able to get easy, free parking at a time when local councils have hiked parking charges in towns.
Many retailers including Next and Marks & Spencer have been shutting stores on the high street and taking bigger stores in better performing retail parks instead.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store on a retail park a half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase to name a few.
What’s increasingly common is when a chain goes bust a rival retailer or private equity firm snaps up the intellectual property rights so they can own the brand and sell it online.
They may go on to open a handful of stores if there is customer demand, but there are rarely ever as many stores or in the same places.