Major retail chain confirms fresh wave of closures days after 16 locations disappear
A MAJOR retail chain will shut another store just after it closed 16 other locations.
Fans of a national garden centre chain are set to wave goodbye to another branch in the coming days.
Dobbies will close it’s Northampton location on March 2.
This will come just days after the gardening specialist shut it’s location in Aylesbury on 28 February.
The chain started to undergo a restructuring plan late last year.
Bosses were given the green light in December to go ahead with store closures.
In a statement, the firm said the move will enable Dobbies to return to “sustainable profitability and unlock access to “future investment”.
Dobbies has already closed 16 of it’s locations across the country.
Some of these shuttered spots included stores in Altrincham, Harleston Heath, and Gosforth.
Five shops shut their doors throughout January.
Two of the stores, Morpeth and Stapleton, had been earmarked for closure already but shut their doors for the last time in mid January.
Time to go
Dobbies is not the only DIY or garden centre retailer struggling across the UK.
High inflation coupled with a squeeze on consumers’ finances has meant people have less money to spend in the shops.
Major chain Homebase fell into administration in November, putting all its then 133 UK stores at risk.
Retailers in other sectors have also had to shut down locations.
Ann Summers will close it’s Taunton store in days.
This branch has been a staple on the town’s high street since 2004 but it will disappear after 8 March.
An Ann Summers spokesperson told to the Somerset County Gazette: “As part of the normal course of business, we regularly review the location of our stores, which occasionally results in new site openings, renovations, relocations, and store closures.
“Unfortunately, we will be closing our Taunton store on 8 March, 2025.”
Locals will luckily be able to be able to snap up some deals in these final days.