A HIGH street giant has launched a major sale as it prepares to close for good in a matter of weeks.
WH Smith on Bournemouth high street is giving shoppers the chance to snap up discounts of up to 50% off before it shuts forever.
The newsagent and stationery giant will have its last day of trade on January 18, giving shoppers just three weeks to say their goodbyes.
Locals have been quick to share their devastation about the news.
One said: “Another shop closing so sad to see this.”
While a second added: “Another one bites the dust here in Bournemouth it’s almost a ghost town.”
A spokesperson for WH Smith told The Sun it was “disappointed” to be closing the branch on Old Christchurch Road but it was “no longer sustainable” to trade from the location.
They added: “We are also extremely grateful for the commitment of our in-store colleagues who we will support with this transition and redeploy to nearby stores, where possible.”
WH Smith already has plans to close another branch in Bournemouth in the New Year.
It said that it would be closing its Winton branch in Bournemouth, Dorset on February 15.
It comes after the retailer, whose stores are a regular fixture in airports around the world, closed its Boscombe branch in the same town in June.
WHSmith has also closed down several stores outside Bournemouth this year, including in Bolton, Lancashire.
However, it’s not all bad news for loyal customers, as the retailer announced plans to open 15 new stores earlier this year – set to pop up in airports, railway stations and hospitals.
WHSmith is focusing on the travel side of its business where sales are growing.
In an update this year to investors, the retailer said it’s on track to open 15 stores this year, with a further 15 to follow “each year over the medium term”.
It forms part of wider plans to open 110 new shops worldwide.
The retailer said it would be moving away from its high-street stores and has no plans to open any more.
Just this month, bosses at a number of prominent retailers have revealed plans to cut stores from their estates.
Garden centre giant Dobbies closed 12 of its stores before Christmas to help shore up extra costs following a restricting plan.
Meanwhile, Homebase has confirmed that six of its sites will close before the end of the year.
These include sites in Sutton Coldfield, Bromsgrove, Cromer, Fareham, Newark and Rugby.
Three more Homebase sites in Derry, Inverurie, and Omagh are also set to close in the coming months, along with a branch in Glenrothes near Fife.
The garden and homeware retailer crashed into administration last month, but around 70 stores were rescued by CDS Superstores, the owner of The Range and Wilko.
At the time it entered administration, Homebase operated 141 stores.
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.
