Store closure: GAME store announces 40 store closures - what British brands have closed?
STORE CLOSURE is sweeping through the UK high street as 2019 saw some of Britain favourite brands closing their doors permanently. With last week's announcement that retailer GAME will be closing down 27 of its UK stores, what other brands have closed down in recent years?
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The British public have seen their fair share of high street store closures. Last year alone was a torrid year for Britain’s retail industry, as thousands of high street jobs were lost in 2019 due to a number of major retailers collapsing into administration, including Karen Millen, Mothercare’s UK business and Clintons. A number of retailers succumbed to the pressure of weak consumer spending and closed their doors for good on many of Britain’s favourite brands, as the shift to online shopping rose and the cost of running a business piled up, many businesses were unable to compete with consumer demand.
Now in early January, another British retailer has already confirmed the closure of 27 of its stores.
National video game retailer GAME aims to close 40 of its UK outlets as part of what it called a "store rationalisation programme".
GAME served notice on 14 sites last week (January 9), bringing its total of confirmed store closures to 27.
The retailer intends to serve notice on 13 more sites in the near future. Before the planned closures, GAME had 259 outlets and 21 Belong eSports arenas in the UK.
The full list of 40 stores planned for closure is not yet known, but there are some sores that have already been served notice.
GAME stores in Bexleyheath, Canterbury, Carmarthen, Derby, Glasgow Fort, Lakeside, Leicester, Mansfield, Norwich Chapelfield, and Watford will be closing down.
Rumours of store closures first began to circulate in October 2019, when the company initiated a review of its property portfolio, bringing in property consultancy firm CBRE as advisers.
CBRE's head of national retail agency James Keany noted that GAME's stores have an average unexpired lease term of "less than 0.8 years", which makes for a "significant opportunity to restructure the current portfolio."
It remains to be seen which other GAME stores may face closure, but CBRE says this "will depend on negotiations with landlords."
A consumer research expert predicts that 2020 will also see several beloved British brands go into administration.
Laura Morose, consumer and retail trends expert, said: “2019 was a rough year for the retail industry.
“More than 40 brands closed down or downsized their business. With the online retail market-dominating consumer preference, 2020 will most likely also see its fair share of store closures.”
What are some of the other retail store closures?
December 2019
According to the Centre for Retail Research, there are several stores that went into administration last year - full list below.