Popular high street fashion brand to close store in crushing blow to shoppers

The much-loved retailer is pulling the plug on one of its high-street stores in a Welsh market town.

By Phoebe Cornish, Senior Lifestyle Reporter

Empty racks and sales signs inside a Peacocks store in...

Popular high street fashion brand to close store in crushing blow to shoppers (Image: Getty)

Peacocks was founded in Warrington, Cheshire in 1884, as a "true Victorian Penny Bazaar" that sold anything and everything. 

The brand has since become a pillar of the British high street as a budget fashion outlet selling clothing, shoes, accessories and homeware.

But fans of the brand may have lost their local store this year after a string of closures, and there's another to follow this week.

High street shoppers in Holywell, Wales will lose the much-loved branch after the premises was put up for sale.

On Thursday, July 25, the popular retail store will close its doors to the public leaving the closest alternative 4.9 miles away.

Peacocks logo seen on the main entrance of the store in...

The fashion brand struggled in the face of the pandemic (Image: Getty)

The freehold building that houses Peacocks in Flintshire is currently up for sale for £700,000 on Zoopla, marketed by Suttons Commerical Property Consultants.

Peacocks will still have more than 340 branches across the UK, with the nearest one to Holywell now being in Flint Retail Park.

Confirmation of the Holywell High Street closure was made just last month and has sparked upset among residents who have expressed their disappointment over the news.

Local news publication Leader Live reported that one local commented: "Another nail in the Holywell coffin", while another added, "We will have nothing left other than charity shops and bookmakers."

It comes just months after another store in Wales closed down on March 23. The Peacocks branch on Merthyr Tydfil High Street was axed despite being described as "incredible" by visitors who left Google reviews.

Another site in Ashford's County Square Shopping Centre in Kent also closed on the same day, followed by a third Peacocks in Camborne, Cornwall, which closed on April 3.

The brand also closed its branch in Boscombe, Bournemouth, on April 6.

This wave of closures came a few years after the chain was rescued from administration in April 2021, which meant it was able to keep its remaining stores open and save 2,000 jobs.

In November 2020, some Peacocks stores had advertised closing down sales in light of financial struggles experienced by the fashion brand.

Peacocks on Rayleigh High Street in Essex was one store earmarked for closure though it was quickly saved from closing down.

Bristol's Wyndham Way Retail Park was also at risk but managed to stay open.

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