Popular convenience store with over 1,300 shops across the UK suddenly closes branch after just 18 months
A POPULAR convenience store chain has suddenly shut one of its branches just 18 months after opening – leaving shoppers stunned.
The Nisa Local on Daws Hill Lane in High Wycombe, which opened in May 2023, hasn’t opened its doors since December 2024.
Leaving many residents without a convenient option for groceries and essentials.
A spokesperson for Nisa Local confirmed that the closure was the owner’s decision, stating: “At this stage, it was the decision of the owner to close the store, and the store is currently not actively trading with Nisa.”
“There’s no further information regarding a reopening or potential sale of the store.
“All Nisa fascia stores are operated independently.”
The store had received mixed feedback from customers, holding an average rating of 3.7 out of 5 from 15 reviews on Google.
Store closures aren’t just affecting convenience shops – major retailers are also feeling the pressure.
Superdry, which has 84 locations, is closing its Eastgate Shopping Centre store in Basildon this Saturday, with another in Bradford set to shut soon.
This follows the closure of its Aberdeen store just a month ago, with staff directing customers online.
It’s not just fashion brands struggling.
Kaspa’s Desserts in Basildon closed earlier this year after issues with its landlord, and a Homebase in nearby Vange shut last month.
The Nisa Local chain, with over 1,300 stores, is also facing pressures as the retail market shifts.
High street shops, once the backbone of British shopping, have been hit hard by the rise of e-commerce.
The cost-of-living crisis and inflation have only added to the strain, with many shoppers cutting back.
As a result, stores that once had steady foot traffic are now closing their doors.
In some cases, landlords are either unwilling or unable to invest in keeping shops open, further speeding up the closures.
For now, residents will have to seek out other options for their shopping as the future of the store remains uncertain.
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.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs from April 2025, will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40.
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.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Carpetright, Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, Paperchase, Ted Baker, The Body Shop, Topshop and Wilko 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.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.