‘It’s the best shop in town’ cry gutted fans as high street fashion chain with 62 branches set to close store for good
A HIGH-street fashion chain with 62 branches is set to close one of its stores for good and fans are gutted.
Zara is pulling the shutters down on its Telford store on January 26.
The fashion chain is owned by Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega, who founded parent company Inditex in 1975.
Inditex owns eight brands including Zara, Massimo Dutti and Pull & Bear.
The Sun reached out to Zara for comment, and a spokesperson for the retailer said: “The Telford store will close on 26th January at the end of the lease term.”
Locals are gutted about the loss of the store and have taken to social media to voice their opinions.
One person said: “The only reason I ever make the trip to shop at Telford! God knows why they’re closing it, it’s the best shop there.”
Another added: “That’s a real shame.”
A third person said: “Gutted, my favourite place to shop.”
Another local pleaded: “Surely something can be done, it’s such a popular shop and brings extra trade to other shops in the Town Centre.”
Last month the popular retailer pulled the shutters down on another store just days before Christmas.
Shoppers were gutted when the store on Fremlin Walk in Maidstone shut down for good.
In October last year, the chain also shut its shop inside the Atria Watford shopping centre.
However, this move was not all bad news as the retailer moved to bigger and better premises nearby.
As well as closing down stores it also opened a new flagship store at a major Scottish shopping outlet.
It comes as many retailers are struggling to keep their heads above water due to rising costs.
Not only Zara, but names such as Boots, Marks and Spencer have also been shutting down branches.
In some cases, they are closing down premises to make way for new locations.
However, in others, some are just cutting back costs in a bid to keep trading.
In 2023 many retailers left the high street for good such as Paperchase and Wilko who fell into administration last year.
Wilko has now re-opened a handful of branches after fellow retailer The Range bought the rights to the brand and website.
Many shops are already earmarked for closure in 2024.
We have the full list of all the shops we know about so far that are closing down this year including Argos, Next and WHSmith.
What about store openings?
It is not all doom and gloom for shoppers as some retailers are looking to expand in 2024.
Popular discounter B&M is opening two stores in Porthmadog and Washington on January 18 and January 26 respectively.
Supermarket giant Asda also has big plans on the horizon as it is set to open 1,000 more sites across the UK and Northern Ireland by March 2024.
As well as surprising shoppers by opening stores in Plymouth, Luton and Exeter, Wilko has plans to open up more stores this year.
Meanwhile, budget fashion chain Peacocks is also set to open six new stores soon.