A HUGE department store is set to close for good, leaving high street shoppers gutted with one less option to turn to when hoping to spend in-person.
Described as a ‘sad day’ for the Merseyside high street, Beales Department Store in Southport has revealed it will be rolling down its shutters for the final time.
It is just three years after the site reopened to a long line of customers, each waiting outside hoping to be one of the first 150 shoppers to receive a £200 voucher to spend .
Unfortunately Beales buyers will need to say goodbye to the store soon with Saturday September 7 being confirmed as the date of closure.
A go-to for residents looking to spend their savings on home, electric and fashion essentials anyone previously hoping to head to Lord Street may want to move fast to make the most of the closing down clearance sale.
Beales Southport took to Facebook to announce its closure, encouraging people to head in-store with “everything” priced to clear with “1000s of items now £10 or under”.
The post has already gained 340 reactions and 74 comments, including a former employee.
One social media user commented: “How sad another store closing, why do people have to all shop on line, the pleasure of walking into a lovely store and feeling the quality and conversations with the employees so sad.”
Someone else replied: “What a sad day another big store closing.”
A third put: “Used to be such a good department store.”
Someone else said: “Such a shame. It used to be a lovely upmarket store.
“My husband bought a dressing table set from there for an engagement present. X”
One user put: “Very sad! Yet another huge store closing in Southport.”
Another said: “Used to work there back in the day when it was Broadbents and boothroyds.
“I went in a few days ago and it was just so sad to see people picking through the bones of what was left of a once great very up market department store.”
The store housed several other businesses including Remedy at Beales, Baby love and Plaza Cards.
RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis.
High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going.
The high street has seen a whole raft of closures over the past year, and more are coming.
The number of jobs lost in British retail dropped last year, but 120,000 people still lost their employment, figures have suggested.
Figures from the Centre for Retail Research revealed that 10,494 shops closed for the last time during 2023, and 119,405 jobs were lost in the sector.
It was fewer shops than had been lost for several years, and a reduction from 151,641 jobs lost in 2022.
The centre’s director, Professor Joshua Bamfield, said the improvement is “less bad” than good.
Although there were some big-name losses from the high street, including Wilko, many large companies had already gone bust before 2022, the centre said, such as Topshop owner Arcadia, Jessops and Debenhams.
“The cost-of-living crisis, inflation and increases in interest rates have led many consumers to tighten their belts, reducing retail spend,” Prof Bamfield said.
“Retailers themselves have suffered increasing energy and occupancy costs, staff shortages and falling demand that have made rebuilding profits after extensive store closures during the pandemic exceptionally difficult.”
Alongside Wilko, which employed around 12,000 people when it collapsed, 2023’s biggest failures included Paperchase, Cath Kidston, Planet Organic and Tile Giant.
The Centre for Retail Research said most stores were closed because companies were trying to reorganise and cut costs rather than the business failing.
However, experts have warned there will likely be more failures this year as consumers keep their belts tight and borrowing costs soar for businesses.
The Body Shop and Ted Baker are the biggest names to have already collapsed into administration this year.
Located on the same site, Lucy Lou’s Boutique owners Gill and Lucy Harper have posted a video expressing their own “sad news”.
They said: “Beales store on Lord Street is closing in September. It does have a closing down sale on at the moment.
“We are staying there until September.
“Obviously this is completely out of our control. We are obviously gutted the store is closing and that Lord Street is losing another high street store.
“We are sad but we are turning it into a positive.
“It is going to give us more time to focus more time on our Churchtown branch and our Penwortham branch and of course our website.
“We are still here, don’t worry, we are staying in Beales on Lord Street until around September time so you can still shop there.
“We just want to thank everyone who has shopped at our Beales concession while it is there and while it is still there and thank you for all your support.”
It comes after Poundland revealed it would be closing nine former Wilko’s stores within months of them opening, including the site in Southport.
Whilst Argos also shut its branch in Southport back in February.
