Big high street health and beauty chain with 800 shops to close branches leaving shoppers devastated

A BIG high street health and beauty chain with 800 shops is set to close branches.

Superdrug will be pulling down the shutters on several sites and shoppers are gutted.

The three shops, which are in various locations, are set to close in the coming months, according to local news reports.

The Superdrug in Bromsgrove is due to shut its doors on November 18.

While another shop in Llanelli, Wales, will be closing in early December, although no specific date has been given yet.

And a third store in Newbury will also be shutting up shop, although no date has been given.

Shoppers from the various areas have been sharing their disappointment about the closures across social media.

They flooded posts remarking on the “very sad” news and saying their local areas will be “ghost towns”.

One wrote: “We can’t afford to lose another pharmacy!!!!”

Another said: “This is very sad, I love Superdrug. Another shop closing and poor people losing their jobs.”

A third commented: “We will have no town soon.”

A fourth wrote: “Oh my god there will be nothing left on the High Street!!”

A fifth shopper said: “There will be nothing left. Terrible.”

Another devastated resident posted: “Another beautiful high street disappearing.”

The fresh closures come after another site in Basildon pulled down its shutters for a final time on August 26.

Further closures also took place earlier this year such as in Kirkcady back in February and Portswood in January.

A spokesperson for Superdrug said: “Our store estate continues to perform well, and we plan to invest in 25 new stores throughout 2023.

“Store closures remain minimal and are a result of the overall optimisation of our store estate. Wherever possible employees will be redeployed to nearby stores.”

It’s not all bad news though as Superdrug, known for its vast array of health and beauty products, in April announced plans to open dozens of new stores creating 570 jobs.

The chain is set to open 25 new stores as part of a huge expansion plan, already opening several shops this year.

It also announced plans to renovate 70 of its current stores this year.

Superdrug was purchased by A.S. Watson Group, the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer, in 2002.

Other UK brands owned by the group include Savers and The Perfume Shop.

The high street has suffered in recent years due to the switch to online shopping, especially during the pandemic.

In the last year the cost of living has been rising, meaning shoppers are cutting back on most non-essential spending.

This means that brick and mortar stores have seen less footfall.

Familiar brands including the likes of M&Co and Paperchase closed all of their stores earlier this year after falling into administration.

And several bargain chains are closing sites too.

The most recent news is that bargain discounter Wilko collapsed.

Meanwhile, a coffee chain with more than 2,000 sites is shutting another of its branches.

Plus, a high street fashion chain abruptly pulled down the shutters on two of its sites yesterday.

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