‘Will the last shopper turn the lights out’ cry customers as discount supermarket with 960 stores to shut shop in weeks
A DISCOUNT supermarket giant is set to shut a shop in weeks amid several closures.
Lidl will be pulling the shutters down on its site in Thornaby next month.
The bargain retailer has confirmed the sites in Stockton-on-Tees will shut on February 29.
Shoppers have reacted to the news on social media, with many fearing for the future of retail in the town.
One posted: "Thornaby Town Centre message…will the last shopper turn the lights out.
"Lidl and Boots are both closing their stores as shops and hair salons become fast food outlets. The death of a town centre."
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Another wrote: ";As if I’ve just heard Lidl Thornaby is closing??????? Wtf."
A third commented: "They are not the first and certainly won’t be the last. The landlords haven’t helped the situation."
And a fourth said: "A tragic, self-destroying ghost town."
While a fifth wrote: "Tragic given new homes opposite too."
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"How very sad," another commented.
A Lidl spokesperson confirmed the closure to The Sun.
They said: "In the last three years alone, we have opened two brand new stores to serve and provide an enhanced shopping experience to households in and around the Stockton-on-Tees area.
"Whilst our Thornaby store will be closing on Sunday, February 29, we hope to continue welcoming customers to both our Tower Street and Billingham Road stores, along with our store on Yarm Road."
It comes after Lidl has pulled down the shutters on several of its supermarkets in the past year.
The chain is closing its shop in Paignton, Devon, next month after 25 years.
The store in the Victoria Centre will shut for good on February 4 after long speculation about its future.
A spokesperson said locals can be assured that they can head to its larger White Rock Way store, just 10 minutes’ walk away.
Lidl has also confirmed that it will be shutting its Kentish Town Road branch on February 11 - after a decade on the high street.
Although, it's not all bad news and Lidl has plans to acquire an alternative site nearby so that they can reopen.
Most recently, it was confirmed that Lidl is looking to close its warehouse in Walsall within the next year.
The supermarket chain says the building, which is 50 years old, is "no longer fit for purpose".
Lidl is also undergoing a wider restructure to ensure its "logistics function is set up as effectively as possible".
It has operated from the depot since 2008 and is set to shutter it in a year.
It's not all bad news though because the chain has big plans to open more sites in the next year.
Last year, Lidl bosses revealed that the chain is looking to open hundreds of new locations.
While it's yet to confirm the exact locations, it's aiming to open high street, standalone, mixed-use and shopping centre stores.
Lidl is also looking at retail parks, as well as metropolitan in London and M25.
The full list, of which there are 1,168 locations, includes sites across all areas of Great Britain - including 66 in Scotland, 83 in Yorkshire, 83 in central England, 91 in south London and 42 in south-mid Wales.
The retailer has a store target of 1,100 stores by the end of 2025.
Other chains are also shutting sites
major high street retailers are set to close 10 stores before the end of the month as shoppers cry about "another sad loss".
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year and more are on their way.
Several major brands have also collapsed, such as Wilko and Paperchase.
Many high-street retailers have been struggling to get by, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Energy costs have risen and more shoppers than ever are choosing to order online rather than head into stores.
This has left some retailers grappling with budgets and have no choice but to close stores to cut costs.
Several big-name chains are pulling down the shutters for the final time this month.
Jack Wills in Worcester announced it will be closing down for good on January 30.
Boots revealed it would be closing 300 stores over the next year as part of plans to evolve its brand.
Supermarket chain Co-op is pulling down the shutters on its branch in Peacehaven, East Sussex, on January 20.
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Meanwhile, several major shops and chains are closing dozens of branches in 2024.
Plus, after a tough year in 2023, there's fresh hope as several chains are set to open new sites.
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