CLOSING TIME
Exact date major outdoor retailer with over 70 branches is set to close ‘fantastic’ store
Devastated shoppers and even an ex-employee reacted to the sad news on social media
A MAJOR outdoor retailer with more than 70 branches is set to close one of its "fantastic" stores.
Blacks Outdoors has told heartbroken customers its branch in Leicester will soon close its doors for a final time.
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Hannah Jones, manager at the Leicester High Street shop, wrote on Facebook: "Well it's official!
"It comes with a heavy heart to say our store on Leicester High Street will be closing with the proposed date of 21st September.
"Please come in for some fantastic deals and say good bye and good luck to my amazing team.
"Leicester Blacks it's been a pleasure."
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Devastated shoppers reacted to the news on social media and expressed their love for their local branch.
One person said: "I’m so sorry Hannah. I have so many good memories with you there."
Another added: "So sad you put everything into building your store and team.
"Wishing you every success with what the future will bring. New roads and success for the future."
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A former employee also commented: "Oh my god? My first ever job -end of an era."
While a fourth replied: "So so sorry you’ve put so much hard work into this.
"Sending best wishes to you all for future adventures."
The Sun has approached Blacks Outdoors for a comment.
It comes after the alfresco outfitters shut its Tamworth site for refurbishments, The Sun understands.
Blacks has not confirmed when the Ventura Retail Park store - integrated with JD Sports - will reopen.
The Tamworth closure is not related to the recent shutting in Leicester.
A couple of store closures does not indicate that the entire chain is experiencing difficulties, as there are numerous reasons why a shop may close.
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Meanwhile, a book retailer giant with more than 300 branches has confirmed the closure of one of its beloved branches.
Waterstones in Bournemouth's Castlepoint Shopping Centre revealed via a display to shoppers that the store would close on Sunday, July 7.
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. 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.
Boss Stuart Machin recently said that when it relocated a tired store in Chesterfield to a new big store in a retail park half a mile away, its sales in the area rose by 103 per cent.
In some cases, stores have been shut when a retailer goes bust, as in the case of Wilko, Debenhams Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Paperchase 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.
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