Importance Score: 35 / 100 🔵
Retail Closures Impact UK High Streets: WHSmith and Hobbycraft Announce Store Closures
British high streets are facing challenges as consumers increasingly shop online, and escalating rents and business rates make it difficult for retailers to remain operational. Several companies, including well-known names like WHSmith and Hobbycraft, have declared upcoming store closures. WHSmith previously revealed an agreed sale of its high street division to Modella Capital in a £76 million transaction, which includes rebranding a majority of these locations as TG Jones. WH Smith PLC is now focusing on becoming a “pure play global travel retailer,” with CEO Carl Cowling envisioning the group as the top global retailer in that sector.
The high street division will “operate for a short transitional period under the WHSmith brand whilst the business rebrands as TGJones”. Hobbycraft, on the other hand, has revealed intentions to shutter at least nine stores, with an additional 18 at risk, as its parent company undergoes substantial restructuring following its acquisition by Modella Capital in August 2024.
Upcoming WHSmith Closures
The following is a list of WHSmith stores slated for closure:
- Halstead, Essex – April 12
- Woolwich, London – April 12
- Halesowen, West Midlands – April 19
- Diss, Norfolk – April 19
- Newport, Wales – April 19
- Haverhill, Suffolk – April 26
- Oldham, Greater Manchester – May 3
- Stockton, County Durham – May 17
- West Mall, Frenchgate Centre, Doncaster – May 31
- Bedford, Bedfordshire – July 5
- Orpington, Greater London – no date given yet
Hobbycraft Store Closures
Hobbycraft has announced the following store closures:
- Bagshot, Surrey
- Basildon, Essex
- Borehamwood, Hertfordshire
- Bristol: Imperial Retail Park
- Canterbury, Kent
- Cirencester, Gloucestershire
- Dunstable, Bedfordshire
- Epping Forest, Essex
- Lakeside Shopping Centre, Essex
Previously Closed WHSmith Locations
These WHSmith stores have already ceased operations:
- Bournemouth Old Christchurch Road, Dorset – January 18
- Luton, Bedfordshire – January 18
- March, Cambridgeshire – January 25
- Basingstoke, Hampshire – February 1
- Newtown, Powys – February 15
- Winton branch in Bournemouth, Dorset – February 15
- Rhyl, Denbighshire – February 15
- Bolton, Greater Manchester – February
- Accrington, Lancashire – March 15
- Alfreton, Derbyshire – January, 2024
- Ramsgate, Kent – January, 2024
- Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland – February, 2024
- Nantwich, South Cheshire – February, 2024
- Margate, Kent – April 20, 2024
- Bridgwater – September 2024
- Sale, Manchester – September 2024
- Bournemouth – October, 2024